We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Emily Guarnotta a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Emily, thanks for joining us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

The most defining moment in my career was also a personal one. In 2018, I had my first child and up until that point I had been working as a psychologist, treating mostly anxiety and mood disorders. As someone who had dealt with bouts of anxiety and depression throughout my life, these conditions had a place near and dear to my heart. After I had my first child though, I really struggled with postpartum depression. I’ve since learned that postpartum depression can manifest differently for different people. For me, my depression manifested as extreme overwhelm, anxiety, irritability, and a sense of hopelessness. It really caught me off guard because I wanted to be a mother so badly and I thought that I had done enough therapy and work on myself that I was “good.” Even though I was a mental health professional myself, it took me months to admit what was happening and to finally seek professional help. The whole experience was eye opening and made me rethink my entire career path. I went on to learn more about perinatal mental health and re-specialized. Ever since I made it through my own postpartum depression, I have been working with families who are in a similar place.

Emily, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a psychologist and certified perinatal mental health provider (PMH-C). I own a practice called Phoenix Health, where we provide online mental health support to families experiencing challenges related to pregnancy, postpartum, baby loss, birth trauma, infertility, and parenting. Our mission is to provide affordable mental health care to families in a way that is accessible and convenient. We do this by accepting most major insurance plans and offering sliding scale spots for clients in financial need. All of our sessions are offered via telehealth, which makes it easier for our clients, especially those with young children, to get care without having to commute to an office. All of our therapists are trained and experienced in treating perinatal mental health conditions as well. This is very important to me because I know first-hand what it is like to feel misunderstood by a mental health professional. Perinatal mental health concerns are so unique and our clients are in such a vulnerable place. They need someone who can read between the lines and really understand what they are going through and how to help them. In my experience, the more general approaches just don’t work as well.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

I think about this question a lot! I absolutely would. I feel so honored to have a job that brings me purpose and aims to make the world a better place, one person at a time. I think we all need purpose in order to be the best versions of ourselves and purpose can come in many forms.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

I think compassion, empathy, and a genuine desire to help are essential in mental health. You can be knowledgeable on all of the latest evidence-based interventions, but if you can’t connect with and build rapport with your clients, your ability to help them is going to be limited. Of course it is also necessary understand theory, diagnosis, and treatment, but showing up with compassion cannot be overstated.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://joinphoenixhealth.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_phoenix_health/
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JoinPhoenixHealth
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-guarnotta/

Image Credits

N/A