Course Description

This comprehensive perinatal documentation course will guide clinicians through best practices for clinical documentation as we seek to balance what insurance and licenses require while using cautious judgment to protect both their clients and their own well-being while practicing ethically. We will discuss record keeping, holistic perinatal psychotherapy intakes, PMAD differential diagnosis, treatment plan development, progress notes, and dealing with the world of commercial (and state) insurance. Learn what your charts need in the event of an audit or chart review and feel prepared and confident that your documentation meets ethical and professional standards.


There is a narrow line between enough to prevent insurance clawbacks and too much that could adversely affect a clinician or a client- particularly in the current sociopolitical climate in the US. We will look at legal and ethical concerns facing perinatal mental health providers post-Roe, and how to proceed with caution. Various state laws will be explored and we will touch on other states with changing legislation. 


This course will provide up-to-date information on the changing legal and political climate as it relates to reproductive rights and mental health clinicians' liability and obligation when working with reproductive mental health clients.



Registration Deadline: September 22, 2024


This course takes place live on Zoom.  Check out Zoom requirements here.

For more information on our work at The Touchstone Institute, visit our website.


Course Overview

  • Schedule

    September 23rd and 24th, 2024 from 11am-4pm EST

  • Prerequisites

    This course is open to all clinical professionals.

  • CE Credits

    This course offers 9.5 CEs. See below for more specific CE coverage.

Continuing Education Credits

Participation in all training sessions and submission of a course evaluation is required to receive a CE Certificate for this course. Course evaluations are made available after all live sessions have been completed within the course portal. After completing the evaluation, participants will be able to download their CE certificates. This training offers 9.5 CE credits.

  • It is your responsibility to verify CE coverage in your State or Provence.

  • The Touchstone Institute for Perinatal Training is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Touchstone Institute for Perinatal Training maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

  • The Touchstone Institute for Perinatal Training, Inc. has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7346. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Touchstone Institute for Perinatal Training, Inc. is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

  • The Touchstone Institute for Perinatal Training, [provider number:1876], is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. The Touchstone Institute for Perinatal Training maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: [1/19/2024-1/19/2025]. Social workers completing this course receive 9.5 continuing education credits.

  • This course is approved by Postpartum Support International (PSI) for continuing education towards obtaining and maintaining the PMH-C

Timed Course Agenda


Day 1


11:00AM -1:30PM

  • Welcome, Land Acknowledgement, Intro, Norms, Objectives
  • Clinical Documentation Intro 
  • Functions of documentation 
  • Professional Responsibilities in Documentation 
  • Where and How to Keep Records  
  • Best practices 
  • Ethical Responsibilities: Records 


15-min break



1:45PM -4:00PM

  • The Comprehensive Intake: What to Ask & Why 
  • Differential Diagnosis 
  • Common Diagnoses in Private Practice 
  • Activity: Differential Diagnosis Jeopardy
  • Implications for Diagnoses/ Client ramifications of Diagnoses 
  • Keep Diagnoses Updated!  
  • Treatment Plans  
  • Progress Notes  
  • Subjective vs Objective Documentation 
  • Mandated Reporting 
  • Telehealth Considerations 
  • Discharges: Goodbye and Farewell!  


Day 2


11:00AM-1:30PM EST

  • Traversing the Insurance Abyss  
  • Speaking their language: LOCUS 
  • Tying it Together, 90791  
  • CPT Coding
  • Responding to 90837 ‘Inquiries’  
  • Red Flags for Audits  
  • Chart Reviews  
  • Insurance Audits: Basics  
  • Audits: Evaluation 
  • Audits Tx Plan  
  • Audits: Notes  


15-min break



1:45PM -4:00pm

  • Evaluation Points 
  • Activity: Role Reversal- You are the auditor! [Small Groups]
    Responding to Audits  
  • Technology Stresses  
  • Perilous Times Post-Roe  
  • What Happened
    How it impacts Mental Health Professionals
  • What states and professional organizations are doing/saying
  • IMMEDIATE Impact to Marginalized Populations 
  • Action Steps 
  • PIVOT!: Adapting our work while maintaining ethical scope of practice 
  • Minimizing Liability  while we continue to be advocates 
  • Protecting Yourself Legally  
  • Big Takeaways  
    • Our Next Steps  
  • Informed Consent in 2024 
    • Activity: Role Play New Informed Consent after this training (Small Groups) 
    • Reproductive Therapist Self-Care Post-Roe

Note on Accessibility:

We include captions in all of our live and self-paced trainings. If there is anything else you need to make our trainings accessible to you, please reach out to us at [email protected]. We recognize that every person has access needs and we are happy to do everything we can to meet yours.
Get in Touch

Instructors

Catharine McDonald, MS, NCC, LPC, PMH-C

Catharine McDonald is a fierce advocate for perinatal wellness and seasoned CT Licensed Professional Counselor certified in Perinatal Mental Health by Postpartum Support International. She is the Owner and Clinical Director of Growing Well Counseling in Tolland, Connecticut, a private practice focusing solely on perinatal wellness encompassing integrative mental health, fertility, birth trauma, and peripartum sexual health. While studying Counseling at UNC Greensboro, she supported families in antenatal units and NICUs, igniting a profound commitment to perinatal mental health. Her passion for learning continues as she works through a post-graduate certificate program in Sex Therapy at The University of Michigan. Catharine is also a trained family life educator, baby-led sleep specialist, and Fair Play Method Certified Facilitator. As a proud feminist perinatal trainer, Catharine creates resource-rich training for therapists, striving to protect reproductive rights and improve birth and postpartum experiences for birthing people. A founding member of the CT Chapter of PSI, she has offered practical perinatal continuing education training at state and national conferences for nearly a decade. Her unwavering dedication to reproductive freedoms and nurturing better birth experiences defines her both professionally and personally. Beyond advocacy, Catharine cherishes family moments on her little homestead in Connecticut, tending to her vegetable garden alongside her husband, four kids, two dogs, and many hens and one rooster. When she isn’t working or home, you can find her cheering on the sidelines as a proud baseball mom, soccer mom, and volleyball mom, living by her planner and always on the go with coffee in hand.

Tiered pricing options for this course:

Questions? See our FAQ below.

More about our pricing:

We offer tiered pricing for all of our trainings in order to make our courses accessible to as many practitioners as possible. If you are unsure which tier of payment is right for your financial situation, please read through our FAQ section below or visit our website.


Please reach out to us at [email protected] if you are interested in a multi-month payment plan. We are always happy to create a custom payment plan to make it more feasible for everyone to participate in our courses. 

Course Details

    1. Meet your Instructor

    2. Course Description

      FREE PREVIEW

    3. Timed Training Schedule

      FREE PREVIEW

    4. Learning Objectives

      FREE PREVIEW

    5. Zoom Information

    6. About Course Recordings

    7. Anti-Oppression Statement from The Touchstone Institute

    1. Coming Soon!

    1. Receiving your CE Certificate

About this course

  • $250 -$450
  • September 23rd & 24th, 2024
  • 9.5 CE's

Learning Objectives

  • Identify key components for thorough clinical documentation and construct sample clinical documentation that meets professional and managed care criteria.
  • Compare perinatal mood and anxiety disorders in differential diagnosis exercises.
  • Create perinatal treatment plans with specific considerations to psychosocial circumstances and access to care.
  • Distinguish goals, objectives, and interventions in treatment planning.
  • Assess medical necessity for ongoing perinatal psychotherapy in case examples.
  • Evaluate successful discharge criteria & compare how this differs from an administrative discharge.
  • Construct accurate documentation with client’s privacy protection in mind, with consideration of insurance requirements and a medical necessity framework.
  • Discuss current sociopolitical/cultural conditions influence our judicious use of disclosure in the context of complete and accurate documentation.
  • Compose comprehensive informed consent with special attention to understanding of mandates that may influence broader societal safety.
  • Explain action steps moving forward to continue advocacy efforts as they relate to perinatal mental health and reproductive well-being.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Is the Generative Access tier right for me?

    Select this tier if you: Own the home you live in (even with a mortgage); live in a two-income household; have investments, retirement accounts, or inherited money; travel recreationally; have access to family money and resources in times of need; work part-time by choice, etc.

  • Is the Sustaining Access tier right for me?

    Select this tier if you: Have income available for recreational activities (going out to dinner, movies, concerts etc.); have consistent work compensated at a median income rate based on your region; pay rent that is not more than 25% of your monthly household income; do not own your own home, etc.

  • Is the Supported Access tier right for me?

    Select this tier if you: Are a graduate student paying tuition; have major medical expenses not covered by insurance; have been denied work, or experience discrimination related to ableism, racism, sexism, gender discrimination or other forms of oppression; are eligible for public assistance; have immigration-related expenses; have ever been denied work due to incarceration history; are supporting adult children, extended family members in need or have other adult dependents; are an elder with limited financial support; are primarily working in a setting with under-resourced populations and your income reflects this work, etc.

  • Are there payment plan options available?

    Yes! We are happy to work with you to create a payment plan that fits your needs. Please reach out to us over email with a brief description of the length of the plan that you are interested in using to pay for this course: [email protected].

  • How can I learn more about your pricing?

    Please visit our website for more information on our approach to pricing our trainings: www.touchstoneinstitute.org/pricing.

  • What is your refund policy?

    More than 14 days notice is required for a full refund minus 7% administrative fee. Cancellations made within 14 days of training are eligible for a 50% refund or full transfer to another training within The Touchstone Institute. Only 1 transfer to another training is allowed. If you can not attend the transferred training your fee will be forfeited. No-shows are not eligible for a refund or transfer. Exceptions to this policy are limited to medically documented circumstances or family bereavements. Failure to attend without prior notification (no-shows) will not qualify for a refund.

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