Winner Category | Mental Healthcare Provider
Elisabeth Schneider is the NICU mental health provider at Yale New Haven Health: Bridgeport. She is also the coordinator of the Developmental Follow-Up Program. As a licensed marriage and family therapist, her role is to provide support to families in the perinatal period, particularly those going through a NICU stay.
What have been your significant contributions to your organization in the past year?
Our NICU serves families with premature and medically fragile infants. I have been privileged to come alongside these families and support their emotional needs, speaking with them and offering support for the emotional impact of their infants’ NICU stay, while also connecting them with resources that can help in the future.
We recently started a screening program so that NICU moms who are here for 14 days or more are informed about, and assessed for, postpartum depression and anxiety.
Our goal is that every family has access to the best possible resources for their emotional health so that they can thrive.
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Tell us about a challenge in your job that you were able to overcome.
A family with multiples went home to an apartment with no elevator and numerous flights of stairs. It was difficult for mom to get her babies to appointments.
I visited mom prior and brought items needed to assess her childrens’ development, enabling us to make referrals and access resources for them.
What’s your next major goal and/or challenge?
My goal is to expand our NICU mental health screening to include all NICU families, not just those with a longer stay.
All NICU families are at higher risk of postpartum depression and anxiety, and should be both informed and screened. We also hope to include partners in future screenings.
Personal Side
Favorite way to relax: Read a book, walk/hike, be with family
Hobbies: Travel, cooking, being outside
Favorite movie: “Forrest Gump”
Currently reading: “The Great Alone,” by Kristin Hannah
Favorite cause: The Tiny Miracles Foundation (supporting families with premature infants)
Fun fact: I once had a baking company specializing in products that are free of nuts, eggs and dairy. My favorite items were the lemon and banana breads. I still make banana bread for my family regularly!