The Postpartum Stress Center

What The Postpartum Stress Center does

The Postpartum Stress Center (PPSC), founded in 1988 by Karen Kleiman, MSW, LCSW, is a privately held LLC operating as both a clinical treatment center and a professional training facility for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Headquartered in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, the center delivers individual and couples therapy for prenatal and postpartum depression, anxiety, OCD symptoms, and birth trauma via in-person sessions and Telehealth. In 2022, Kleiman established a wholly-owned subsidiary, The Karen Kleiman Training Center, LLC, to disseminate the proprietary, trademarked Art of Holding Perinatal Women in Distress™ model—a relational intervention framework grounded in D.W. Winnicott's holding-environment theory—through 6-hour and 12-hour training programs, specialized workshops (perinatal OCD, birth trauma, motherhood neuroscience), individual and group mentoring, and customized organizational programs approved for NBCC, NASW, and PSI PMH-C continuing education credits. Revenue is generated primarily through therapy session fees, training registrations ($75–$1,995 per participant), mentoring ($50–$400 per session), and book sales, distributed via the postpartumstress.com website, virtual sessions, occasional in-person intensives at hotel venues, and a clinician referral network. Recent strategic actions include hospital-system partnerships through The Good Moms Project (Bronson Health, Hackensack University Medical Center), the formation of the PPSC Holding Coalition clinician alliance, geographic expansion to Nebraska, and the addition of a Business Director with commercial tech-startup experience to lead e-learning product development.

Name

The Postpartum Stress Center

Legal name

The Postpartum Stress Center, LLC

Website

https://postpartumstress.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Postpartum Stress Center is a Pennsylvania-based clinical and training practice founded in 1988 by Karen Kleiman, treating prenatal and postpartum depression and anxiety while training clinicians worldwide in her proprietary Art of Holding Perinatal Women in Distress™ model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Perinatal Mental Health Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Specialty Outpatient Facilities, Nec (8093)

akta.pro primary industry

Lactation, Postpartum & Perinatal Support Services (HLAFAJAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Maternal Mental Health Telehealth (perinatal anxiety/depression, support programs) (HLALAHAH), Postpartum & Newborn Care Telehealth (postpartum check-ins, newborn guidance) (HLALAHAD)

Keywords

• Perinatal mental health services
• Postpartum depression treatment
• Clinical therapy services
• Professional training programs
• Continuing education courses

Headquarters

HQ city

Ardmore

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Clinical Therapy Services: Individual and couples therapy services for prenatal and postpartum depression and anxiety. Services available in-person and via Telehealth. Revenue generated through session fees for treatment of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.
2. Professional Training Programs: The Karen Kleiman Training Center offers professional training courses for clinicians including 6-hour and 12-hour Art of Holding trainings, workshops on perinatal OCD, birth trauma, and motherhood neuroscience. Programs available in virtual and in-person formats with registration fees ranging from $75 to $1,995 per participant.
3. Mentoring Services: Individual and group mentoring programs for PPSC-trained therapists. Individual mentoring with Karen Kleiman at $400 per 45-minute session and with Ashlee Adams at $250 per 45-minute session. Group mentoring (Holding Intensive) at $50 per session.
4. Training Materials and Books: Sale of books authored by Karen Kleiman including 'Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts', 'What About Us?', 'The Art of Holding in Therapy', and other publications on postpartum depression and perinatal mental health.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Postpartum Stress Center provides clinical therapy services for prenatal and postpartum depression, anxiety, OCD, and birth trauma to individuals and couples, delivered in-person and via Telehealth. It also operates The Karen Kleiman Training Center, offering professional continuing-education courses, workshops, and mentoring for clinicians, social workers, and healthcare providers on perinatal mental health intervention.

Product overview

The Postpartum Stress Center is a dual-purpose organization comprising a clinical treatment center and a professional training division. The core offering is The Postpartum Stress Center (PPSC), providing therapy for prenatal and postpartum depression and anxiety disorders. The Karen Kleiman Training Center (KKTC) extends this work through professional education programs including the 6-Hour and 12-Hour Art of Holding Training, Perinatal OCD workshops (Level I and II), birth trauma training, and specialized mentoring programs. The PPSC Holding Coalition represents a national alliance of trained therapists, while The Good Moms Project is a hospital-based initiative distributing the book 'Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts.' These offerings are interconnected: the PPSC provides direct patient care while KKTC trains clinicians in The Art of Holding model, and the Coalition creates a network of holding-informed practitioners. The organization also publishes books and resources that support both clinical practice and patient education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Clinical Therapy Services at The Postpartum Stress Center (PPSC) Individual and couples therapy for prenatal and postpartum depression, anxiety, OCD, birth trauma, and general counseling, delivered in-person at the center and via Telehealth. Designed for new and expectant parents experiencing perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.
• The Karen Kleiman Training Center (KKTC) Professional training division offering workshops, intensives, mentoring, and customized training programs for perinatal therapists and maternal health providers. Includes NBCC, NASW, and PSI PMH-C continuing education credit eligibility.
• 6-Hour Art of Holding Training A core introductory training program teaching the relational, holding-informed approach to working with perinatal clients experiencing emotional distress, covering therapeutic presence, attunement, and emotional containment.
• 12-Hour Advanced Art of Holding Training An intensive advanced training program for maternal healthcare providers that considers the nuanced nature of perinatal client suffering and its synchronous impact on the provider, using lecture and experiential learning approaches.
• Workshop: Perinatal OCD Level I An introductory workshop providing background in counseling theory and practice surrounding obsessive-compulsive symptoms during the perinatal period, including assessment and treatment planning for clinicians.
• Workshop: Perinatal OCD Level II An advanced workshop building upon the fundamentals of identifying and treating OCD symptomatology for perinatal patients, addressing complex cases, family systems, and evidence-based treatment approaches.
• The Holding Approach to Birth Trauma A 2.5-hour clinical training exploring birth trauma through contemporary trauma-informed, attachment-based, and experiential frameworks, including Karen Kleiman's The Art of Holding model.
• REWIRED: Motherhood & The Changing Brain A workshop exploring the neuroscience of motherhood, focusing on how memory, mental load, and brain changes during pregnancy and postpartum impact maternal mental health, featuring Jodi Pawluski, PhD.
• Holding Intensive Mentoring Group Expert consultation and peer support for PPSC-trained holding therapists, offered as a virtual roundtable discussion facilitated by Karen Kleiman with Ashlee Adams at $50 per session.
• Individual Mentoring Partnership Program One-on-one consultation with Karen Kleiman ($400 per 45 minutes) or Ashlee Adams ($250 per 45 minutes) for PPSC-trained therapists, combining therapeutic relationship with individualized consultation from leading perinatal mental health experts.
• OCD Consultation Group Monthly group consultation for clinicians who have completed training on perinatal OCD, providing personally-catered insight, feedback, and assistance in treatment planning.
• Customized Training Programs Tailored training programs designed to meet individual or organizational needs for specialized perinatal training, ranging from 1-hour sessions to multi-day programs for various maternal mental health professional groups, available domestically and internationally.
• Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts: A Healing Guide to the Secret Fears of New Mothers A therapeutically-informed, illustrated guide that normalizes scary thoughts, encourages self-compassion, and offers actionable steps toward postpartum emotional wellness, also part of The Good Moms Project hospital initiative.
• What About Us? A New Parents Guide A guidebook of short essays, comics, and journal prompts about the stressful newborn stage, struggles new parents face, and skills needed to strengthen the couple relationship during parenthood.

Quantifiable outcome

• 75-91 percent of new mothers report having negative, intrusive, unwanted thoughts about harm coming to their babies
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bronson Health (Michigan)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBronson Health in Michigan is implementing The Good Moms Project hospital-based initiative, designed to ensure every birthing parent receives emotional support at discharge. This aligns with The Joint Commission's perinatal care mandate for comprehensive discharge planning.
• Hackensack University Medical Center (New Jersey)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey is implementing The Good Moms Project initiative, demonstrating commitment to equity, compassion, and excellence in maternal mental health through provision of educational materials at discharge.
• Postpartum Support International (PSI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKristina Ledlow serves as Chair of the Michigan state chapter of PSI and as a leader for the Michigan state-funded Regional Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative. Training programs are approved to meet PSI PMH-C certification criteria.
• Normandy Farm Hotel (Blue Bell, PA)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorVenue partner for in-person 12-hour Advanced Training programs held in October 2026. Provides event space for professional training intensives.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• BetterHelp: Large online therapy platform serving a broad consumer base. Indirectly competes for postpartum patients seeking convenient, lower-cost therapy, and represents the digital incumbent that PPSC must differentiate against.
• Talkspace: Public telehealth therapy company offering online counseling across many specialties including postpartum depression. Overlaps with PPSC's telehealth service line but as part of a much broader mental health portfolio.

Emerging players

• Grow Therapy: Online platform connecting patients with therapists, including a growing network of perinatal mental health specialists. Represents the broader digital mental health trend that competes with PPSC's clinical referrals and therapist training ecosystem.
• Alma: Therapist directory and practice management platform that helps clinicians accept insurance and grow practices. Competes with PPSC by aggregating independent clinicians, including those offering perinatal mental health services, into a more discoverable marketplace.

Direct peers

• Seleni Institute: Nonprofit providing mental health care, parenting support, and professional training focused on maternal and reproductive mental health. Comparable scope of clinical services plus professional education targeting perinatal clinicians.
• The Motherhood Center: New York-based treatment center providing therapy, support groups, and maternal mental health programs. Directly comparable as a clinical outpatient practice specializing in perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, though with a different geographic footprint.
• Postpartum Support International: National nonprofit dedicated to perinatal mental health awareness, support, and the PMH-C clinician certification. PPSC's training programs are approved to meet PSI PMH-C certification criteria, making PSI both a peer and standards-setter in the same niche.
• Center for Perinatal Mental Health: Specialty outpatient center offering psychotherapy and psychiatric care for perinatal mood disorders. Directly competes as a specialty mental health practice for the same patient population with similar therapist-led delivery model.

Regional players

• Postpartum Support Virginia: State chapter affiliate of PSI providing resources, support groups, and referrals for perinatal mental health. Comparable as a peer support and referral organization in the maternal mental health space, but limited to Virginia geography.
• Mothers & Babies Perinatal Network: Perinatal support organization serving a specific U.S. region with support, education, and referrals for expectant and new parents. Comparable mission in perinatal mental health awareness and support, though primarily focused on a single geographic region.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ppstresscenter
• Facebookfacebook.com/postpartumstresscenter2
• Instagraminstagram.com/postpartumstress
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-postpartum-stress-center-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Postpartum Stress Center