Action on Postpartum Psychosis (APP)

15/11/2025

Would you like to chat with others about your postpartum psychosis experience? We have lots of friendly and relaxed APP café groups taking place over the next few weeks across the UK, in person and online.

Our next London group is Saturday 22nd November, 11.00am-1.00pm (in person, London).

Our UK wide café group is Thursday 27th November, 7.30pm-9pm (online, via Zoom).

Lots more upcoming locations and dates are listed on our website too.

📲 To find out more, direct message us or email app@app-network.org.

🔗 You can also book online via the link in our bio:

We look forward to chatting with you soon 💜

11/11/2025

"You don’t know how capable you are until being capable is all you can be. This was my biggest lesson reflecting back on the family crisis we faced last year with postpartum psychosis."

Read on for an update from fundraiser Ross on his epic Ultra challenge. Ross has raised £9,050 for APP! A huge congratulations.

"The 63km Ultra was more than just a run, crossing that finish line was my message to any mum, dad and family out there who’s world feels like it’s been shattered to pieces by the severe mental illness that postpartum psychosis is, that there is still light in the darkness. She will come back to you. Your family will be whole again. Happiness and trust in this life can be found again. Do not give up hope, do not quit, keep showing up.

Although our story has had a happy ending, the unfortunate reality especially in this country without Mother Baby Units is that we will continue to lose the lives of mums to this severe mental illness and families will continue to be broken apart by the strain the effects PP has on relationships. The knock on effects it has on partners can also result in losing lives. I know first hand the effects it had on my own mental health and the year of PTSD and insomnia I suffered, and that was even with the help and support of healthcare professionals. All of the above is what drove me to turn Pain to Purpose.

All we can do until government support takes action, is raise awareness and get behind charities like to help them reach families in need before it’s too late.

I’ll never be able to thank the inner circle of people in our lives enough who have given unconditional support to me and the girls throughout the darkest of times and in recovery. Always showing up via regular messages or in person, without being asked, whether it’s convenient for them or not, that is the true definition of friendship and family. To see those people at the finish line was the icing on the cake (plus Gaz, Kay & the Hanks fam across the pond virtually) we love you all 💜

The man behind the camera is also one of those people aswell, but someone’s got to take the shots 📸"

11/11/2025

Three APP guides – Planning pregnancy: a guide for women at high risk of postpartum psychosis (PP); PP: a guide for partners; and Recovery after PP – are available in Arabic, Polish, Slovak and Urdu.

Find out more and download them for free here: https://ow.ly/uiKW50UTaEr

11/11/2025

New! Black Mums group for postpartum psychosis support 💜

Are you a Black mum who has experienced psychosis after having a baby? You're not alone.

Join Rachel, APP’s peer supporter, and other APP volunteers who’ve recovered from postpartum psychosis and are here to support you.

🗓 Friday 21st November
🕢 7.30 – 8.30pm (on Zoom)
📅 Then every third Friday of the month (19 Dec, 16 Jan)

🔗 Book online: https://bookwhen.com/apppeersupportgroups/e/ev-szvpj-20251121193000
📧 Or email for info: rachelr@app-network.org

08/11/2025

The Royal Photographic Society, featuring APP ambassador and trustee Catherine Cho.
・・・
This is Carolyn Mendelsohn and over the next two days, I’ll be taking over the RPS Instagram feed in collaboration with the Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA). I’ll be sharing portraits, stories, and glimpses behind the scenes from my new body of work created for the exhibition and book:⁠
This is Also Motherhood: Portraits of Mental Health, Strength and Survival.⁠
⁠
This series explores the often unseen and unspoken experiences of motherhood – stories that are sometimes hidden by shame or silence. Earlier this year, I was invited by MMHA to work with ten incredible women to bring these stories to light.⁠
⁠
Introducing Catherine. – A story of postpartum psychosis. ⁠
“I now think of psychosis as a spark – Carrying the light of all things, all the stories of the past – and it took just one spark to set it aflame.”⁠
⁠
1 – Portrait⁠
2 – Still life of significant objects from Catherine’s story ⁠
3.- Letter⁠
4- Short Section of Catherine’s audio with images. ⁠
⁠
Together, we co-created portraits that show each woman as she is now - taking up space with power, vulnerability, and hope. Alongside each portrait, there’s a second image that reflects the woman’s mental health journey; a still life, a symbolic moment within their story. We worked to find a way to represent their truth with care and sensitivity. I recorded interviews with each participant, shaping them into short audio pieces that can be heard in the exhibition and online ⁠
⁠
The exhibition This is Also Motherhood will be at Phillips, 30 Berkeley Square, Mayfair, London, and open to the public on:⁠
14th & 17th November, 10am–6pm⁠
18th November, 10am–12pm⁠

https://www.instagram.com/royalphotographicsociety/

07/11/2025

🏃‍♀️ A massive thank you to the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust Perinatal and Maternal Mental Health Team, who took on a huge Miles for Mums and Babies Challenge for APP during October.

Together, the team covered 750 miles and raised more than £2,000! The team loved taking part, and they've been inspired to take on even more challenges as a result of it.

💜 Thank you! See their fundraiser here: www.justgiving.com/team/pmhtapp

07/11/2025

Repost from APP volunteer Chris on Instagram: "On Saturday 8th November, my wife and I will be completing a 160ft bungee jump at Bray Lake in Windsor.

This will be our third fundraiser now, with all donations being split 50/50 between our Bournemouth MBU and so they can both continue with the incredible and often unrecognised work that they do.

If watching me scream like a high pitched toddler makes you smile - or if you just want to support a good cause - please consider donating via the link in my bio.

We know that times are tough right now, so even if you can't donate, just reading and sharing our page to help spread awareness goes a long way 💜"

Good luck Natalie and Chris!

Follow Chris for updates: https://www.instagram.com/wasley_postpartumpsychosis/

06/11/2025

🌟 Ready for a challenge in 2026? 🌟

We have access to places in events all over the country (and beyond), including the Brighton Marathon, Manchester Marathon, London Landmarks Half, Paris Marathon, Great North Run, and SO MANY MORE. From 2.5k fun runs to ultra-length trail runs - plus skydives and bungee jumps - we have something for everyone! 🏃‍♀️✈️

Browse the challenges here: www.app-network.org/get-involved-with-app/take-on-a-challenge-to-fundraise-for-app 💪

Sign up to any event and get a FREE APP running vest or t-shirt, a fundraising pack, and lots of support and encouragement throughout your training and fundraising! 🎽🏅

Contact us at fundraising@app-network.org to secure your place today and help make a difference 📧

Fancy joining and taking on a challenge to raise vital funds? We've partnered with RunforCharity to enable our supporters to gain access to hundreds of events all over the country (and even overseas). Whether you're looking for a tough ultra-marathon, a gentle 10k, a triathlon, a bike ride,...

01/11/2025

📘 Free guides for mums, parents & families

Did you know we can post FREE printed copies of our helpful guides about postpartum psychosis (PP)?

They include:
• Recovery after PP
• Planning pregnancy: a guide for women at high risk
• PP: a guide for partners
• Being a parent after PP

📩 Just email us with your name, address and which guides you’d like: app@app-network.org
🔗 Or download them online here: bit.ly/DownloadAPPGuides

We regularly post copies of our free guides, flyers and A4 posters to health professionals and families. You can also find translated guides and other resources on our website.

💬 “Well done to everyone who put this together - it’s really useful and well written.”

01/11/2025

Join us at our postpartum psychosis lived experience café groups, where mums and families can meet together for peer support.

🎟️ Book here: https://ow.ly/Pkg750Xlk2s
📲 Or send us a message to find out more.

📆 November dates:
UK-wide
Thu 27 Nov | 7.30–9pm (Online)

Black mums
Fri 21 Nov | 7.30–8.30pm (Online)

Dads and co-parents
Wed 19 Nov | 8–9pm (Online: bit.ly/PARTNERMEET)
Every 3rd Wednesday of the month.

Grandparents
Mon 17 Nov | 6–7pm (Online)

Mental health difficulties after PP
Wed 12 Nov | 7.30–9pm (Online)

Muslim mums
Fri 7 Nov | 7.30–8.30pm (Online)

Birmingham
Fri 7 Nov | 10.30am–12pm (Birmingham)

Lancashire & South Cumbria
Fri 7 Nov | 10.30am–12pm (Blackburn)
Mon 10 Nov | 7.30–9.30pm (Online)
Fri 14 Nov | 10.30am–12pm (Blackpool)
Wed 19 Nov | 10.30am–12pm (Lancaster)
Fri 21 Nov | 12.30–2pm (Preston)

London
Sat 22 Nov | 11am–1pm (London)
Tue 25 Nov | 7.30–9pm (Online)

Manchester
Fri 28 Nov | 10.30am–12.30pm (Manchester)

North East
Sat 8 Nov | 10.30am–12.30pm (Newcastle)

Scotland
Sat 15 Nov | 11am–1pm (Edinburgh)

Action on Postpartum Psychosis is a Charity Registered in England and Wales (no. 1139925) and a Company Limited by Guarantee (no. 7466643).

31/10/2025

“It is not only a beautiful film, it is an important one, a shared testimony.” - APP trustee Catherine Cho

Have you seen WITCHES? Released in 2024, this powerful documentary film by Elizabeth Sankey examines the relationship between cinematic portrayals of witches and how we view women, motherhood, and mental health. It shows historical footage across film, television, and culture alongside personal stories.

Members of our community were interviewed for the project and have their postpartum psychosis stories featured in the film, including APP trustee Catherine Cho and Dr Krystal Wilkinson. Documentary contributors also include Sophia Di Martino, David Emson, Dr. Trudi Seneviratne, Professor Marion Gibson and Shema Tariq.

Catherine Cho said: ”I was asked to participate in the film as an interviewee, and I remember being struck by Elizabeth’s passion and dedication to bringing this project to life. Watching the film, I was struck by the parallels in history. Some of the most moving elements in the documentary are listening to the historical testimony of women who were found to be guilty of being a ‘witch’ or a vessel to the devil and realising that their experiences are what we would now know to be mental illness.

The documentary weaves together Elizabeth’s perspective, her journey from being sectioned to trying to make sense of her experience, her love of cinema, and the stories of others with shared experiences of postpartum mental illness.

There is a moment towards the end of the documentary where Elizabeth walks hand in hand with her son, and it brought me to tears, that in walking through darkness, through horrors, through a haunted place, we can emerge.”

💜 A note on the film content for our lived experience community:
Some of our team and volunteers have viewed the film and shared that certain scenes may be challenging or upsetting, depending on where you are in your postpartum psychosis journey. Please take care and decide whether it's the right time for you to watch. If you'd like to find out more about the themes before watching WITCHES, do get in touch with us.

🎥 Watch on MUBI:

Director Elizabeth Sankey explores the connections between postpartum mental health and the portrayal of witches in Western society and popular culture. Sankey intertwines her personal experiences with historical and cinematic footage—while creating a new coven of women to reclaim their stories.

30/10/2025

Dr Jess Heron, CEO, Action on Postpartum Psychosis said “Responsible portrayals of PP on popular TV shows such as Hollyoaks are invaluable. With greater public awareness, partners, friends, family members and frontline health professionals will be more able to quickly spot the signs and seek specialist emergency help as soon as possible."

Read more about this news story in The Mirror:

Cleo McQueen has recently welcomed a baby boy called Joseph and Hollyoaks have confirmed they will explore Postpartum Psychosis as the new mum struggles with her mental health