Exploring the therapeutic benefits of psychoeducation via social media

University of Connecticut

Researchers Dr. Molly Waring of the University of Connecticut and Dr. Cindy-Lee Dennis of the University of Toronto have teamed up to explore how moms and moms-to-be are interacting with psychoeducational social media and digital content, and whether these could have positive mental health benefits.

“Social media can be a wonderful place to connect with other moms, share realistic experiences about the realities of motherhood, and disseminate useful information about mental health,” says Molly. “Some studies say that more social media use leads to people being more depressed, but it really depends on the type of content they’re interacting with.”

Erica Djossa is the Founder of Momwell, whose platform reaches nearly 400k followers on Instagram and is the basis for the study.

“I had three boys back-to-back and I struggled with postpartum depression and anxiety,” says Erica. “This generation of moms is on social media, so I began sharing posts about maternal mental health and the response was enormous. I came to realize that what I was doing was actually a form of care that was helping moms feel heard and less alone.”

The team is interested in seeing whether this form of care can be validated scientifically. “We know anecdotally that women interacting with these types of content may seek help sooner,” adds Molly. “This could have potential in preventing or reducing the severity of mental illness among mothers.”