PMDD Awareness: Workshops, Talks & Trainings
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder and Women’s Health
I’ve been talking about PMDD since before I knew it had a name. I had severe symptoms starting in high school, but nobody knew what was happening with me. I remember feeling dismissed by doctors, or told it was just PMS, that I was being too sensitive, or that I was struggling with a mental health issue. I was dealing with suicidal ideation, and even still, no one connected the severe depression to my cycle.
So, when I finally found out that there was actually a name for what I was going through—Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder—I experienced a moment of deep validation. I wasn’t crazy, and I wasn’t alone.
For over a decade now, creating PMDD awareness, providing education and supporting those with PMDD has become a personal and professional passion. As someone who once felt debilitated by this disorder, I feel called to offer care and help other women and clinicians supporting women better understand this still highly overlooked and misunderstood disorder.
Understanding PMDD
PMDD—Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder—is a cyclical mood disorder tied to the hormonal shifts of the menstrual cycle. It affects women and people assigned female at birth who menstruate and typically emerges in the luteal phase—the one to two weeks before bleeding begins.
While many people are familiar with PMS, PMDD is much more intense. It can cause debilitating symptoms, such as rage, anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. These symptoms can make it feel like your mind and body are turning against you, month after month. PMDD disrupts relationships, families, work and a person’s sense of self in very real and often frightening ways.
What makes PMDD especially challenging is how often it’s missed or misdiagnosed. Many people suffer for years without a name for what they’re experiencing. They may be told they have depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or a personality disorder.
PMDD is still widely misunderstood—even among clinicians—and without awareness of what’s happening within their bodies, women often feel broken, isolated, or even dangerous to themselves. However, when someone learns about PMDD and begins to track their symptoms and connect the dots, that PMDD awareness is often a turning point. It was for me. Learning that what I was experiencing had a name and that I wasn’t alone brought relief, validation, and the possibility for a new kind of support.
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From Lived Experience to Supporting Women as a PMDD Therapist, Coach & Educator
Following my diagnosis, I left my corporate career, went back to school, and became a therapist. I knew I wanted to support other women and menstruating people who were experiencing the same kind of cyclical suffering I had.
Offering PMDD therapy, PMDD coaching, PMDD consultations and now PMDD public speaking, training and workshops have become avenues for me to try to help and expand impact. I’ve seen time and again how education—especially for other providers—can change everything for someone with PMDD. Sometimes when I speak it’s the first time a provider even hears of this disorder. Other times, I’m able to offer valuable information and insight to a therapist who has a client they don’t know how to support. And, on the most intimate level, I’m able to offer care, guidance and practical resources to women struggling to make sense of what is happening to them for two weeks out of every month—literally half of their lives.
PMDD Awareness: Speaking, Topics & Training
When providing awareness on PMDD, I try to make the education piece accessible and practical. I talk about neurobiology, hormones and the menstruation cycle. However, I also talk about what it feels like to live with PMDD. What it feels like to navigate a monthly pattern where physical symptoms, emotions and energy are too hard to hold and pull you into places you would never choose and struggle to understand.
I blend clinical insight with lived experience and speak about tracking, treatment paths, collaborative care, trauma-informed approaches, and how to support someone with compassion, clarity and care.
I also address how PMDD often gets misdiagnosed as bipolar disorder, depression or anxiety. I want to help providers recognize patterns. For instance, when someone says, “I feel like a different person for part of the month,” or “I lose control every month right before my period,” that’s a red flag. That’s a moment to pause and ask more.
Supporting Clinicians
Many clients come to me after years of therapy that didn’t help much. Not because their therapists weren’t skilled, but because those therapists weren’t trained in cyclical mood disorders. A lot of therapists aren’t.
In addition to public speaking and working with clients, I offer training and consultations for therapists. Sometimes they have a client they care about deeply, but they feel stuck. I can offer support—from helping them recognize PMDD, to collaborating on a care plan, to thinking through medication, lifestyle, and trauma support.
Elevating Conversation Around Women’s Health
I’m generally more of a quietly passionate person, but women’s health is still so misunderstood. Sharing my story and journey feels important—not just to offer validation, but to give others space to share their own experiences, if they want to.
Women need a safe place where they can talk about their experience and ask questions that might feel scary or taboo. This condition can feel dramatic and isolating, and I want people to know that their experience is not abnormal.
The rage, for example, isn’t outrageous. It’s not unreasonable. It’s part of the symptom picture, part of what happens hormonally in the body. There’s so much happening internally—physiologically and emotionally—around menstruation and women’s health, and it’s often invisible.
What shifted for me was learning to change how I communicated with myself about PMDD. That internal narrative of “I’m broken” or “I’m damaged” is so heavy, and I carried shame for a long time. Now, I help others bring awareness to both the emotional and physical body—because the menstrual cycle is a huge part of women’s lives. Whether you have it, lose it, or struggle with it, it shapes your experience for decades.
Increasing PMDD Awareness
I’m available to give talks and offer training and workshops on the various aspects of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder in women’s health centers, college campuses, community groups, or directly to other therapists—especially those supporting clients with PMDD who aren’t sure how to help.
There’s also potential for group training—particularly for therapy collectives or women’s clinics wanting to deepen their understanding. The information I provide is holistic and ideal for clinicians supporting women, as well as for young people trying to understand what’s happening in their bodies. There is a real need here.
Let’s Connect
As someone who has experienced PMDD firsthand and understands how this condition affects women both personally and professionally, I’m passionate about helping others navigate it—whether you’re a therapist, a clinician, an administrator, in HR, or someone struggling with symptoms yourself.
If you’re interested in increasing PMDD awareness, as well as in education and elevating the current conditions of women’s health resources, let’s connect. I’m warm, down-to-earth, and always happy to answer your questions. Please reach out to schedule a session or inquire about speaking and training availability. You can reach me directly at (303) 963-9249.