Reclaiming Rage: A Yoga Therapy + Maternal Mental Health Event for Clinicians & Care Workers

About this training

Maternal Rage is gaining recognition as a presenting issue in the perinatal period and beyond (Billotte Verhoff et al., 2023). In this course, the clinical implications of maternal rage and evidence-based interventions to address maternal rage will be discussed. This course delves into the phenomenon of maternal rage, exploring its relationship with common perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (Tobe et al., 2020). Participants will gain an understanding of how rage manifests during the perinatal period through the lens of The Stages of Maternal Rage (Ou et al., 2022). Participants will learn to identify key triggers of maternal rage- including compromised needs and violated expectations (Ou et al., 2022). Societal and cultural factors that impact the experience of maternal rage will also be examined. While emphasizing practical, evidence-based interventions, this course equips professionals with tools to effectively address maternal rage. The intervention framework includes cognitive strategies and somatic techniques (Dubin, 2023; Lockman, 2019; Ou et al., 2022). Systemic interventions and overcoming barriers to effective treatment are also addressed. This course will include a robust experiential yoga therapy segment that introduces participants to embodied compassion as a tool for healing. Rather than bypassing or suppressing maternal rage, participants will learn to engage with it somatically- through breath, grounding, and mindful movement- as a way to create space and bring power and regulation back into the body. Yoga therapy strategies will focus on reclaiming nervous system resilience, what to do when rage hits, and building preventative somatic care. Participants will leave with concrete tools for helping clients move from reactivity to conscious response. This integrative approach honors maternal rage as a valid, embodied response to systemic oppression and helps clinicians support repair rather than repression. Attendees will leave the session with a robust toolkit for supporting their perinatal clients. This engaging and informative session bridges the gap between theory and practice, empowering practitioners to confidently navigate the complexity of maternal rage. While this retreat is open to both clinicians and non-clinicians, all continuing education content is designed to meet the professional development needs of licensed mental health providers. Date and Time: Monday, October 19, 2026 10am-1:00pm ET Schedule: 9:45 Arrival to Zoom Room (Please make sure your Zoom is updated before logging on.) 10-11:25 Nicole McNelis 11:25-11:30 Break 11:30-12:50 Kanjana Hartshorne 12:50-1:00 Q&A