About Karen Kleiman
MSW, LCSW
Founder & Executive Director
.jpg)
Karen Kleiman, MSW, LCSW, is an internationally recognized expert in perinatal mental health and one of the pioneering voices in the treatment of postpartum depression and anxiety disorders. For almost four decades, her work has educated clinicians, supported families, and helped shape the field of perinatal mental health. In 1988, Karen founded The Postpartum Stress Center, LLC, one of the nation's first treatment centers dedicated exclusively to prenatal and postpartum depression, anxiety, OCD, and related disorders. There, she continues to provide psychotherapy to individuals and couples experiencing perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. She is also the founder of The Karen Kleiman Training Center, LLC, where she provides advanced post-graduate education for mental health professionals seeking specialized training in perinatal mental health.
Karen received her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Illinois at
Chicago in 1980 and has practiced clinical social work for more than four decades.
Throughout her career, she has remained committed to advancing both clinical care and professional education.
Her work has been featured extensively in national and international media. She has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, and Inside Edition, and has been interviewed or featured by numerous publications including SELF, Fit Pregnancy, Parenting, Working Mother, Mothering, and Star magazine. She has also collaborated with Alanis Morissette through podcast and social media appearances to increase awareness and understanding of perinatal emotional distress.
Karen is the author and co-author of numerous influential books for both clinicians and parents. Her first book, This Isn't What I Expected: Overcoming Postpartum Depression (co-authored with Dr. Valerie Davis Raskin), was among the first self-help books devoted to postpartum depression and remains a foundational resource. Additional titles includes The Postpartum Partner, What Am I Thinking? Having a Baby After Postpartum Depression, Therapy and the Postpartum Woman, Dropping the Baby and Other Scary Thoughts (with Amy Wenzel), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Perinatal Distress with Amy Wenzel), Tokens of Affection, and The Perinatal Patient. She has also contributed chapters and expert commentary to several parenting publications. Her publications are widely used in clinical settings and academic programs across the country. (see "book" page)
Among Karen's most significant contributions is the GOOD MOMS book series,
published by Familius. Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts (2019) has remained one of the best-selling books on postpartum depression since its release and has become an essential resource for new parents navigating intrusive thoughts. The series continued with What About Us? (2021), addressing the impact of parenthood on relationships, and Unchecked (2026), an illustrated guide to postpartum OCD and intrusive thoughts.
Karen's most recent professional contribution is the development of The Art of Holding Perinatal Women in Distress™ (AOH), a relational model of psychotherapy designed specifically for the treatment of perinatal emotional suffering. The model serves as the foundation of the educational programs offered through The Karen Kleiman Training Center and has become a sought-after framework for clinicians seeking to deepen therapeutic presence, strengthen clinical skills, and better understand maternal suffering. Karen is currently leading research examining the effectiveness and clinical impact of the AOH model and continues to work toward improving care for all parents through treatment, education, and advocacy
​
The Art of Holding™ Framework & Clinical Training
​
Karen Kleiman’s signature clinical approach, The Art of Holding Perinatal Women in Distress™, has become a cornerstone in the field of perinatal mental health. This unique therapeutic model emphasizes the transformative power of the therapist’s presence, emotional attunement, and relational responsiveness—what Karen calls “holding”—to help mothers feel seen, safe, and supported in their most vulnerable moments. Developed through decades of clinical experience, this framework challenges traditional therapeutic paradigms by centering maternal resistance, ambivalence, and despair as entry points for deep and compassionate work. It teaches clinicians how to sit with distress, decode what is not being said, foster relational healing. Unlike structured, protocol-driven interventions, Holding invites a deeply personal, enduring clinical alliance that speaks directly to the unspoken suffering of new mothers.
​
To bring this work to clinicians worldwide, Karen launched The Karen Kleiman Training Center, LLC. The training programs—ranging from foundational to advanced—offer immersive, interactive education in the theory and practice of The Art of Holding, with a focus on the clinical nuances of perinatal work and the therapist’s use of self.
Therapists from around the world have integrated the Holding framework into their clinical practices and healthcare systems, expanding its reach and relevance across diverse populations. These trainings are known not only for their rigorous clinical content, but also for the profound emotional resonance they create among participants—what many describe as a professional and personal paradigm shift.
…Women are rarely informed about the range of emotions that can develop after the birth of their baby. When they experience difficulty, they are often silenced by well-intentioned healthcare providers or family members: “all mothers experience this”, or “this is normal,” or “you’ll feel better if you get out of the house,” or “find a hobby.” This advice doesn’t work. In fact, it can make her feel worse, misunderstood and isolated.
As her usual coping skills diminish, and her feelings of shame and guilt abound, her depression deepens. It is this scenario that has compelled me to do the work I do. To reassure mothers that they are not alone, that there is help available and contrary to what they may think, they do NOT have to continue to feel hopeless and sad. We live in a society that does not make it easy to admit that being a mother sometimes doesn’t feel so good.
Sometimes, it’s hard, it’s exhausting, it’s overwhelming and it’s just not always what we feel like doing. And even in the absence of a clinical depression, motherhood can challenge a woman in a way she has not previously known.
Women need a private place they can go to talk, to cry, to be angry, to be by themselves, to rediscover who they are, what they need and how they can get it. A place where they are safe to disclose their most secret and painful thoughts. A place where they no longer have to prove how strong they are, how perfect they are, how in control they are. A place where they can reclaim their lost self and find the courage to explore where they are and where they would like to go from this point forward. The Postpartum Stress Center offers them this opportunity.
Featured In:
