Moving from one phase of life to the next can be exhilarating.  Whether you are contemplating pregnancy, moving through pregnancy, welcoming a new baby, or entering menopause, changing one's role in life can be exciting and fulfilling.  However, many women find these transitions to be challenging as well.  Depression, anxiety, and many other psychiatric difficulties can emerge all too frequently during these times of rapid change.  These difficulties may be particularly worrisome for women who have already struggled with psychiatric diagnoses in the past.  Questions about medication, therapy, and other ways to cope can often seem overwhelming and scary, and there can often seem to be a lack of reliable information. 

Should you find yourself struggling with psychiatric illness as you contemplate becoming pregnant, navigate infertility, travel through pregnancy and the postpartum, or face menopause, Dr. Emily Dossett would like to help you.  Dr. Dossett is a psychiatrist focusing on Women's Mental Health.  She is trained in a wide range of ways to cope with mood and thought disorders during pregnancy, the postpartum, and menopause.  Many treatment options are available, and more are being introduced all the time.  These include medication, psychotherapy, support groups and education, to name a few.  Working with partners, families, and the patient's larger social network can be an integral part of treatment and recovery as well.  In addition, collaborating with other health care providers, such as Obstetricians-Gynecologists, Internal Medicine physicians, and psychotherapists, can be essential.  Dr. Dossett can work with you and your family to use these approaches to bring relief during times of psychological, emotional, and physical challenges. 

KEY WORDS:  Psychiatrist, Women's Health, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Therapist, Postpartum Depression