Tokens of Affection: Reclaiming Your Marriage After Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression is hard on a marriage. In their private practices, authors Karen Kleiman and Amy Wenzel often find themselves face-to-face with marriages that are suffocating, as if the depression has sucked the life out of a relationship that was only prepared for the anticipated joy of pending childbirth. What happens to marriage? Why do couples become angry, isolated, and disconnected? Tokens of Affection looks closely at marriages that have withstood the passing storm of depression and are now seeking, or in need of, direction back to their previous levels of functioning and connectedness. The reader is introduced to a model of collaboration that refers to 8 specific features, which guide postpartum couples back from depression. These features, framed as “Tokens,” are based on marital therapy literature and serve as a reminder that these are not just communication skill-building techniques; they are gift-giving gestures on behalf of their relationship. A reparative resource, Tokens of Affection helps couples find renewed harmony, a solid relational ground, and reconnection.

• The Postpartum Husband: Practical Solutions for living with Postpartum Depression
• Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts: A Healing Guide to the Secret Fears of New Mothers
• This Isn't What I Expected: Overcoming Postpartum Depression
• Dropping the Baby and Other Scary Thoughts
• What Am I Thinking: Having a Baby After Postpartum Depression
• The Art of Holding in Therapy
• Therapy and the Postpartum Woman: Notes on Healing Postpartum Depression for Clinicians and the Women Who Seek their Help
• The Pregnancy and Postpartum Anxiety Workbook: Practical Skills to Help You Overcome Anxiety, Worry, Panic Attacks, Obsessions, and Compulsions (A New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook)
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Perinatal Distress
• Moods in Motion: A coloring and healing book for postpartum moms