Bobbie Posmontier, PhD, CNM, PMHNP-BC, FAAN

Evelyn Lauder Chair, in Psychiatric Mental Health and Professor

Dr. Bobbie Posmontier is the inaugural Evelyn Lauder Chair in Psychiatric Mental Health and a tenured professor at the Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing.

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Profile

Dr. Bobbie Posmontier is the inaugural Evelyn Lauder Chair in Psychiatric Mental Health and a tenured professor at the Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing at Hunter College of the City University of New York (CUNY). She has over 40 years of clinical experience as a nurse-midwife and psychiatric nurse practitioner and a strong commitment to health equity working with underserved populations.

Dr. Posmontier leads an interdisciplinary team of investigators to address improving perinatal mental health outcomes among pregnant and postpartum women and their infants. Her current NIH funded project involves developing a digital health platform to help improve mental health outcomes among women experiencing postpartum depression and sub-optimal mother-infant interaction. Dr. Posmontier has a strong record of scholarship and expertise in women’s mental health and serves as reviewer for numerous peer-reviewed publications. She also serves as a NIH reviewer for research proposal applications submitted through NIMHD and is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.

Dr. Posmontier founded and co-directs an evidence-based perinatal mental health intensive outpatient program called Mother Baby Connections at Drexel University in Philadelphia, where she facilitates clinical services and research, as well as trains perinatal mental health providers. She also has expertise as an Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) trainer and Infant Massage trainer and has trained and supervised numerous nurses, psychology students, medical residents, medical students, and social workers in the United States and Israel.

Dr. Posmontier earned her BSN from Thomas Jefferson University and completed her MSN in child and adolescent psychiatry, post-master's teaching certificate, post-master's psychiatric nurse practitioner certificate, post-master's nurse midwifery certificate, PhD, and post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. She also earned a Master Psychopharmacology certificate from the Neuroscience Education Institute and is trained in several modalities of psychotherapy. Dr. Posmontier continues to work clinically to inform her research as a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Jefferson Health, where she cares for patients across the lifespan and specializes in the care of women with postpartum depression and their infants.

Educational Background

Post-Master's Certificate, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, University of Pennsylvania, 2010
Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Center for Health Disparities Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, 2008
PhD, Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, 2006
Post-Master's Certificate, Teaching, University of Pennsylvania, 1999
Post-Master's Certificate, Nurse Midwifery, University of Pennsylvania, 1989
MSN, CNS Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, 1986
BSN, Thomas Jefferson University, 1982

Honors and Awards

Gloria Donnelly Mentorship Award, Drexel University College of Nursing and Health Professions, 2019
Fellow, American Academy of Nursing, 2018
Nurse Faculty Scholar Semi-Finalist, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2012
Fellow, Sigma Theta Tau Nurse Faculty Leadership Academy, 2011
Adeza Biomedical Research Scholarship Award, 2004
Sigma Theta Tau International Research Scholarship Award, 2004
Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, 1982

Research

Dr. Posmontier's research primarily centers on perinatal mental health, with a particular emphasis on postpartum depression and its impact on both mothers and infants. Her work explores innovative approaches to addressing these issues, including the development of digital healthcare platforms and mobile technologies to deliver evidence-based treatments. Her research also extends to related areas like nutrition in perinatal depression, patient navigation models for mental health care access, and the adaptation of mental health methodologies for high-needs perinatal populations. Her work aims to improve mental health outcomes for mothers and infants through technology-driven solutions and comprehensive care models.

Grants and Publications

2023: MPI (PI: Ma, T.; MPI: Horowitz, J.; Co-I: Geller, P.), Leveraging mHealth to Expand a Successful, Evidence-Based Mother Baby Connection Program. HHS Racial Equity in Postpartum Care Challenge Phase 2, 2023-Present.
2022: MPI (PI: Ma, T.; MPI: Horowitz, J.; Co-I: Geller, P.), MommaConnect, a Mobile Health Platform (mHealth) Based on Our Evidence-Based Mother-Baby Connections (MBC) Perinatal Mental Health Program. SBIR Phase I Omnibus Solicitation of the NIH for Small Business Technology Transfer Grant Applications (1 R43 MD018236-01), 2022-2023, $269,730.
2022: MPI (PI: Ma, T.; MPI: Horowitz, J.; Co-I: Geller, P.), Leveraging mHealth to Expand a Successful, Evidence-Based Mother Baby Connection Program. HHS Racial Equity in Postpartum Care Challenge Phase 1, 2022-2023, $40,000.
2021: Co-I (PI: Horowitz, J.; Co-I: Geller, P., & Ma, T.), Momma Connect mHealth Application for Women With Postpartum Depression and Their Infants. Acorn Innovation Grant, 2021-2022, $16,250.
2021: PI (Co-I: Horowitz, J. A., Geller, P., Elgohail, M., & Ma, T.), Mother-Baby Interaction/ Interpersonal Psychotherapy: Mobile Health Technology Treatment for Mothers With Postpartum Depression & Their Infants. Stratton Foundation Pilot Grant for Health Services, Thomas Jefferson College of Nursing, 2021, $25,000.
2018: PI, Cortical Hemodynamic Response Among Infants of Mothers With and Without Postpartum Depression. Dean's Rapid Response R3 Grant, Drexel University, 2018, $7,000.
2016: Co-I (PI: Geller, P.; Co-I: Croft, D., & Wolf, S.), Enhancing Mental Health Care Access for Low Income High Risk Pregnant Women: Coordination of Perinatal Health Care and Mental Health Services. Urban Equity Pilot Grant, Drexel University College of Medicine, 2016, $15,000.
2013: PI (Co-PI: Bina, R., & Lerner-Geva, L. [Israeli research partners]; Co-I: Breiter, D., Styr, B., & Cinamon, T.), Multidisciplinary Model of Social Worker Psychotherapy for Postpartum Depression to Study the Efficacy of Social Workers Providing Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Women With Postpartum Depression in Primary Care Clinics in Israel. Louis and Bessie Stein Fellowship (Global Engagement Fund), Drexel University, 2013-2016, $20,000.
2010: PI (Co-I: Neugebauer, R., & Stuart, S.), Multidisciplinary Model of Nurse Midwife Administered Psychotherapy for Postpartum Depression. R-21 Award (1R21MH086610-01A1), National Institute of Mental Health, 2010-2014, $423,751.
2005: PI (Co-Sponsors: Tulman, L., & Amsterdam, J.), Functional Status and Motor Activity in Postpartum Depression. Individual National Institute of Nursing Research Award F-31 (NR00897301A), 2005-2006, $28,298.

Selected Publications

Refereed Articles

Posmontier, B., Horowitz, J. A., Geller, P. A., Elgohail, M., McDonough, M., Alvares, K., Smoot, J., Chang, K., & Ma, T. (2024). Applying the PRECEDE-PROCEED model to develop MommaConnect: A digital healthcare platform for addressing postpartum depression and improving infant well-being. Exploration of Neuroscience. In Press.
Mullasery, D., & Posmontier, B. (2024). The effects of health beliefs and acculturation on the acceptance of HPV vaccination among Asian Indian parents in the United States. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. In Press.
Stott, D., Klobodu, C., Chiarello, L., Posmontier, B., Elgohail, M., Geller, P., Horowitz, J. A., & Milliron, B. J. (2023). Nutrition-related experiences of women with perinatal depression during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study. Journal of Patient Experiences, 10, 23743735231199818. https://doi.org/10.1177/23743735231199818.
Sodowick, L. B., Hartman, A. R., Geller, P. A., Schwartz, J., Posmontier, B., & Horowitz, J. A. (2023). The benefits of housing intensive outpatient programs in psychology training clinics through the lens of Drexel University's Mother Baby Connections Program. An APTC Medley, 20.
Posmontier, B., Geller, P. A., Horowitz, J. A., Elgohail, M., & Chiarello, L. (2022). Intensive perinatal mental health programs in the United States: A call to action. Psychiatric Services. https://ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ps.202100384
Klobodu, C., Chiarello, L., Diamond, G., Elgohail, M., Geller, P., Horowitz, J. A., Milliron, B., Posmontier, B., & Stott, D. (2022). Nutrition-related challenges and needs of women with perinatal depression: Perspectives of women with perinatal depression and healthcare providers. Current Developments in Nutrition, 6(Supplement_1), 677.
Posmontier, B., Horowitz, J., Geller, P., Ma, T., Mazurkewicz, L., & Priyma, M. (2022). MommaConnect mHealth: Extending access to evidenced-based therapy for mothers with postpartum depression and their infants. Nursing Research, 71(3), S54-S55.
Posmontier, B., Geller, P. A., Horowitz, J. A., & Ma, T. (2022). MommaConnect: Using mobile technology to deliver evidence-based treatment to mothers with postpartum depression and their infants. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 56(Supp 1), S583-S583.
Geller, P. A., Posmontier, B., Stevens, N. R., Patterson, C., Sodowick, L. B., Horowitz, J. A., & Hamilton, N. (2022). Adaptation of efficacious methodologies for high needs perinatal populations. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 56(SUPP 1), S583-S583.
DiSanza, C., Geller, P. A., Bonacquisti, A., Posmontier, B., Horowitz, J. A., & Chiarello, L. (2020). A stepped care model of patient navigation for enhancing access to perinatal mental health care. Health Equity, 4(1), 484-488. https://doi.org/10.1089/heq.2020.0077
Horowitz, J. A., & Posmontier, B. (2020). A call to action: Reclaiming our PMH APN heritage. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 34(5), 351-354. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2020.07.020
Horowitz, J. A., Posmontier, B., Chiarello, L., & Geller, P. (2019). Introducing mother-baby interaction therapy for mothers with postpartum depression and their infants. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 33(3), 225-231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2019.05.002
Geller, P., Posmontier, B., Horowitz, J., Bonacquisti, A., & Chiarello, L. (2018). Introducing Mother Baby Connections: A model of intensive perinatal mental health outpatient programming. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 41(5), 600-613. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-018-9974-z

Contact Details

Bobbie Posmontier

School of Nursing
Brookdale West 805
(212) 481-4318
bp2015@hunter.cuny.edu