DENVER — September trainings around postpartum depression hosted by the Colorado Psychological Association (CPA) are apparently off limits to white mental health providers, according to an email obtained by Complete Colorado.
In the email, sent to its members in late June, the CPA said it was proud to host two training courses as part of Postpartum Support International. According to its website, CPA “advances the profession of psychology through advocacy and education”
Postpartum Support International’s website says its organization is dedicated to increasing “awareness among public and professional communities about the emotional changes that women experience during pregnancy and postpartum.”
Nothing on its “about” page says anything about being focused only on women of color. However, in bold print the email specifically says: “These September trainings are facilitated by persons of color for persons of color and will focus on serving the needs of BIPOC families. The trainings are open to Black, Indigenous, and other Professionals of Color.
BIPOC is an acronym for black, indigenous, and people of color.
Additionally, the information page for the two-day event as well as a separate one-day training on “advanced perinatal mental health psychotherapy training,” says: “The training is open to Black, Indigenous, and other providers of color.”
Complete Colorado has not yet received comment back from Kristin Aaker, the contact person in the email. Aaker is the Co-Founder and Co-Executive director of Colorado Perinatal, a Colorado mental health, non-profit organization, which is offering scholarships for the trainings.
In summary, Complete Colorado asked Aaker:
- Are there topics related to postpartum depression that only affect black, indigenous, and other people of color?
- Are there any issues related to postpartum depression in whites only for which you plan to offer the same segregated training?
- Is there data showing black, indigenous, and other people of color don’t use white professionals for their mental health needs?
- Is there data showing white professionals do not adequately treat black, indigenous, and other people of color, and therefore are unable to present appropriately?
- Conversely, is there data showing white professionals already adequately treat black, indigenous, and other people of color, and therefore do not need additional training as much as their BIPOC counterparts?
The letter also says Colorado Access, another non-profit focused on mental health is funding the trainings.
Complete Colorado will update this story if more information becomes available.
