Perinatal Mental Health

Physical and emotional health go hand in hand. The time surrounding pregnancy can be the most physically and emotionally challenging in a woman’s life. The hormonal, emotional and physical changes that occur during this time can be profound. Our women’s behavioral health experts provide compassionate and personalized care for women and their families. Our goal is to bring together women’s physical and mental healthcare to provide comprehensive support during the perinatal period. Physical and emotional health go hand in hand. Services Offered At Inova Women’s Hospital (Fairfax Medical Campus) Bedside therapy Depression and anxiety screening at beside and antenatal testing center Psychiatric consults and medication management Outpatient* Depression and anxiety screenings Individual and group counseling Medication management Preconception counseling Psychological assessments * Services are currently limited to patients referred by Inova Medical Group obstetricians from preconception to one year postpartum. All outpatient sessions are through telemedicine at this time. Call 571-623-3542 for appointments. Meet Our Team Chandrika Balgobin, DO, FAPA, PMH-C Dr. Balgobin serves as the Medical Director, Inova Women’s Behavioral Health Services. Dr. Balgobin is a psychiatrist who is board certified in psychiatry and consultation-liaison psychiatry, with additional training and certification in maternal mental health and perinatal mental health from Postpartum Support International. She is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Virginia Commonwealth University and is an outpatient practice member of Inova Medical Group. Kim Ragan, LCSW, LSATP, CSAC Kim Ragan is the Director of Therapeutic Services and Women’s Behavioral Health Services, focusing on women’s mental health in the perinatal period. She is a licensed clinical social worker, licensed substance abuse treatment practitioner and certified substance abuse counselor in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Kim completed a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg and a master’s in social work at the University of Georgia in Athens. Her experience in women’s mental health spans most of her career, starting at Emory University’s School of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, conducting research on the treatment of psychiatric disorders during pregnancy and postpartum. In Emory’s psychology department, she conducted research on the impact of maternal mental illness on infants. Kim has published articles in peer-reviewed journals and co-wrote the 2006 American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology guidelines for the treatment of psychiatric, neurologic and addictive disorders during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Tara Croan, LCSW, PMH-C Tara serves as the Outpatient Clinical Supervisor for Inova Women’s Behavioral Health Services. She is a licensed clinical social worker, with specialized training and certification in perinatal mental health. She provides individual and group outpatient therapy for Inova’s Women’s Behavioral Health patients, in addition to facilitating a Postpartum Support Virginia/Inova Fairfax Hospital postpartum support group. Prior to joining Inova in 2016, Tara spent eight years providing therapy and case management for victims of violent crime and traumatic brain injury survivors at the UCSF Trauma Recovery Center, a nationally recognized model of trauma-informed care. She also supervised interns and staff and worked in an integrated neurosurgery clinic. Tara earned her master’s degree in social work from the University of California at Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology from the University of Virginia. While in graduate school, her internships focused on providing therapy to vulnerable and underserved communities in San Francisco, including mothers receiving TANF. Prior roles and experience included research, policy and counseling. She is a member of Postpartum Support International (PSI), Postpartum Support Virginia (PSVA), and the DC Metro Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative.