The Harriet Lane Clinic (HLC) has dedicated staff to meet with young mothers of newborns to screen for postpartum depression, intimated partner violence and other significant family stressors, which are all factors that are directly linked to poor health and developmental outcomes for infants. We continue to grow and develop our services to help and support these families.

Services Include:

• Screening for postpartum depression and other maternal health concerns
• Assessing risk of (or history with) intimate partner violence and providing counseling and safety planning for families dealing with violence within their homes
• Onsite individual mental health counseling and medicine management with two psychiatrists from the Johns Hopkins Women’s Mood Disorders Clinic
• Fostering positive parent-child attachment through group-based interventions to support mothers addressing symptoms of postpartum depression, anxiety and trauma
• Resources and counseling to help caregivers understand social-emotional development of their infants and toddlers and address their young children’s challenging behaviors
• Resources to support parenting activities to build early language and literacy for infants and toddlers and build parenting self-efficiency
• Screening for health care needs of mothers, linking caregivers to insurance and medical treatment when applicable
• Access to onsite visits with the Johns Hopkins OBGYN medical staff to conduct maternal postpartum visits during baby’s one-month well-child pediatric visit
• Home visiting and in-home support for caregivers

The clinic has a case manager to help families meet their children’s most basic needs through community supports including: WIC, medical assistance, DSS entitlements, as well as employment and educational goals

The Harriet Lane Clinic at Johns Hopkins has promoted wellness and provided primary health care services in the East Baltimore community since 1912. Located today in the David M. Rubenstein Child Health Building on Wolfe Street, the clinic is a training site for medical students, pediatric residents and fellows, who provide comprehensive health care services for approximately 8,500 children and youth up to 21 years of age.

Harriet Lane Clinic Director Barry Solomon and pediatric psychiatrist Emily Frosch incorporated maternal mental health into their larger clinic-wide mental health program in 2008 with philanthropic support from the Leonard and Helen R. Stulman Charitable Foundation.

For more information, contact Kate Wasserman, LCSW-C, Family Support Counselor, Harriet Lane Clinic, Johns Hopkins Hospital, (443) 287-9067.