2019Conference

Charles Schauberger is an obstetrician at Gundersen Health in La Crosse, Wisconsin.  He also provides addiction care for pregnant and nonpregnant patients.  His care of pregnant women with substance use disorder has resulted in several publications and led to his involvement in the development of “Clinical Guidance for Treating Pregnant and Parenting Women With Opioid Use Disorder and Their Infants” (SAMHSA, 2018) and TIP 63: Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (SAMHSA, 2018).  He trained at University of Iowa for medical school and residency and a MS in Administrative Medicine from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dr. Schauberger will be presenting ‘Management of Opioid Use Disorders in the Perinatal Patient.’

Elizabeth Collier, MSW, LCSW, CSAC, ICS is with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. She is the State Opioid Treatment Authority in the Division of Care and Treatment Services, Bureau of Prevention Treatment and Recovery. Elizabeth currently oversees all of the Opiate Treatment Programs in the state and contracts related to IV drug use and the HOPE legislation.  She has more than 15 years of experience in behavioral health working with co-occurring disorders with an emphasis working with the criminal justice, homeless, HIV, LGBT, and those with an opiate use disorder population. 

Elizabeth will be presenting ‘Opioid Epidemic in Wisconsin and the Perinatal Patient.’

Dr. Christina L. Wichman joined the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin in September 2009. After receiving her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from Des Moines University-Osteopathic Medical Center in 2003, she completed her residency in adult psychiatry, as well as fellowship in Psychosomatic Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Dr. Wichman has a subspecialty area of expertise in women’s mental health, specifically within the area of psychopharmacology during pregnancy and lactation. Currently, Dr. Wichman is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, as well as Obstetrics and Gynecology. She is the Director of Women’s Mental Health as well as the Fellowship Director for the Consult-Liaison Fellowship Program. As the Vice Chair of Education for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, she oversees education for all trainees (medical student, resident, fellow) across the three Medical College of Wisconsin campuses. Dr. Wichman is the Medical Director of The Periscope Project and the primary responding psychiatrist.

Dr. Wichman will be presenting on bipolar disorder during breakout 1B: ‘Special Topics in Psychopathology.’
She will be co-presenting ‘Navigating Difficult Conversations Utilizing Standardized Patients.’

Dr. Julie Ruth Owen completed both medical school and residency training in General Adult Psychiatry (Chief Resident) at the Medical College of Wisconsin, as well as fellowship training in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. She is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Medical College of Wisconsin and serves as a covering psychiatrist for The Periscope Project provider consultation line. She also works as a staff psychiatrist in Psychiatric Crisis Services at the Milwaukee County Mental Health Complex. Dr. Owen is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in Psychiatry.

Dr. Owen will be presenting breakout 1A ‘Back to the Basics: Perinatal Psychiatric Pharmacology.’
She will be co-presenting ‘Navigating Difficult Conversations Utilizing Standardized Patients.’

Dr. MyPhon Nguyen earned her medical degree from Creighton University School of Medicine. She completed residency in psychiatry, along with a fellowship in women’s mental health, at the University of Illinois Hospitals and Clinics. She provides medication management and electroconvulsive therapy. Her areas of interest include women’s mental health and medical education. Dr. Nguyen is one of The Periscope Project responding psychiatrist.

Dr. Nguyen will be presenting on post-traumatic stress disorder during breakout 1B: ‘Special Topics in Psychopathology.’
She will be co-presenting ‘Navigating Difficult Conversations Utilizing Standardized Patients.’

Dr. Farrar has a liberal arts background with undergraduate study of studio art, literature and science at Middlebury College in Vermont. She returned to her home state of Nebraska for medical school at the University of Nebraska Medical College (UNMC), then completed a psychiatric residency at the University of Illinois in Chicago (UIC) in order study reproductive psychiatry under a nationally recognized expert in that field, Dr. Laura Miller. Beginning in 2006, she practiced in Vermont and was the Director of Outpatient Psychiatric Services at the Brattleboro Retreat. In 2010, she moved to Wisconsin with her family to work for Thedacare, where she led a team which provided specialized mental health care to peripartum women. She joined Sherman Counseling as the Director of Psychiatric Services in May of 2017.

Dr. Farrar is a board-certified psychiatrist who provides evidence-based psychiatric medication management services and limited psychotherapy services. She prefers to collaborative with therapists and the patient’s medical team. She values the importance of patient education and shared decision-making. Dr. Farrar specializes in Reproductive Psychiatry in an outpatient setting. She also provides formal consultations to other providers on reproductive psychiatry issues. In 2018, she became one of the founding board members of the Wisconsin Chapter of Post-partum Support International (PSI).

Dr. Farrar will be presenting on attention deficit disorder during breakout 1B: ‘Special Topics in Psychopathology.’
She will be co-presenting ‘Navigating Difficult Conversations Utilizing Standardized Patients.’

Dr. Sarah Slocum completed medical school at Marshall University in her home state of West Virginia. After completing an internship in Psychiatry at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire, she relocated to Milwaukee to finish her adult psychiatry residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where she is currently a Chief Resident. She has been accepted for a one year Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry fellowship for the next academic year, which will begin this summer.

Dr. Slocum will be co-presenting ‘Navigating Difficult Conversations Utilizing Standardized Patients.’

Abbey Kruper, PsyD

Dr. Kruper is an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She has training and expertise in the field of clinical psychology with a sub-specialization in health psychology.  Clinically, she has worked in diverse patient settings (academic medical centers, outpatient clinics, Veteran Affairs hospitals) with training and program development across a wide range of medical diagnoses (oncology, women’s health, transplant, chronic pain).  In her current role, she provides clinical care for women across the reproductive spectrum, including those diagnosed with infertility, during the perinatal period, and related to high-risk maternal or fetal concerns.

Dr. Kruper will be facilitating and presenting as a panelist during breakout 2B: ‘Panel Session: Non-Pharmacological Treatment Options.’

Ashlee Rahmlow, LCSW

Ashlee is a volunteer for Postpartum Support International and Co-Chair of the Board of Directors for Postpartum Support International- Wisconsin Chapter. She works with adults in varying life stages in her clinical practice but enjoys working with Moms the most. She ran a PMAD peer support group in her community and leads Oshkosh’s annual Climb Out of the Darkness event. She presented on Maternal Mental Health at the NASW- WI conference this past fall and on the ethics and boundaries in peer support work at conferences in Philadelphia, PA and Atlanta, GA.

Laura Gertz, LPC

Laura is the lead psychotherapist at the Franklin clinic for Advocate Aurora Health. Clinically, Laura works with children, adolescents, and adults but most enjoys working with perinatal women. She runs a weekly therapy group for pregnant and postpartum women with mood and anxiety disorders. She completed the 2-day PMD Certificate Training with Postpartum Support International in March 2017 and the Advanced Psychotherapy Training in October 2018. She also regularly connects with the My Morning with Mom support group, run at Aurora West Allis Hospital and through a Facebook group, to educate and support new moms who may be struggling with mood and/or anxiety disorders. She is also a preferred provider with Mom’s Mental Health Initiative Milwaukee.

Lawrence Miller, PsyD

Dr. Miller is an Assistant Professor in the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine. He specializes in helping patients to cope with situations causing psychological distress, to improve self-management skills for acute and chronic medical conditions and treatments, and to adjust to life transitions – to advance holistic healthcare and improve patients’ quality of life and outcomes. In addition to clinical practice, Dr. Miller is the Co-Director for the Behavioral Medicine Primary Care (BMPC) Psychology Clinic, part of the MCW Health Psychology Residency Program, which is a pre-doctoral psychology internship program that focuses on health service psychology within a hospital setting. Dr. Miller’s academic interests include patient self-care management and interactive healthcare solutions and technologies.