Women’s Bodies and Psychological Authority: How the Professionalization of Reproductive Medicine Shaped Psychologists’ Care of Women

Join Dr. Cortney Beasley (opens in a new tab) as she explores how the history of reproductive medicine shaped psychological understandings of women, and how that history can help clinicians and other care providers assess, understand, and respond to women’s experiences with greater context and care.

Date: Monday, December 7, 2026
Time: 12:00 PM to 1:15 PM PST
Where: Live on Zoom
Price: $95 (a community rate is available)
Credit: 1 CE credit
Level: Introductory
For: This course is designed for psychologists and other professionals working in mental health, reproductive health, maternal health, and related helping fields, including doulas, midwives, and lactation consultants. No specialized background in reproductive health is required. Community members and others with a personal or professional interest in this history are also warmly invited to attend.

Would the standard fee be a financial barrier?

A reduced-rate option is available for participants for whom the standard registration fee would create a financial barrier. Please choose the rate that best fits your circumstances.

Community access registration, $75

Still too much?

Write to Cortney at cortney@putinblack.com.

Can't join us on December 7?

This course will be offered again, and more courses are on the way. Leave your email and we'll let you know when registration opens.

About the course

How did we come to understand women’s emotions, behavior, bodies, and psychological distress in the ways we do today?

Part of the answer lies in the intertwined histories of reproductive medicine and psychology.

This one-hour introductory course examines how beliefs about women’s reproductive bodies shaped professional interpretations of women’s minds, behavior, distress, and capacity. It also considers how authority over women’s care shifted toward professional institutions and how those changes influenced whose knowledge was treated as credible, whose experiences were considered significant, and who was authorized to interpret women’s bodies and minds.

Together, we will explore how this history remains relevant today, including how reproductive, relational, cultural, spiritual, and practical factors can shape women’s experiences and how the systems and professionals caring for women can influence how those experiences are understood.

For psychologists and other care professionals, the course offers a historically informed framework for asking more comprehensive questions, considering multiple plausible explanations, recognizing the limits of one’s professional role, and identifying when consultation, referral, medical evaluation, or interdisciplinary collaboration may be appropriate.

Community members are equally welcome to engage this history as a way of better understanding the systems of care women encounter, the ideas that have shaped those systems, and the ways women’s own knowledge and embodied experiences have been understood over time.

Learning objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

Identify key historical developments in the relationship between reproductive medicine and psychology that remain relevant to contemporary psychological care of women.
Explain how reproductive, relational, cultural, and practical factors may influence women’s psychological symptoms, assessment, and clinical formulation.
Apply a historically informed framework to the assessment of women by identifying relevant questions, important clinical considerations, and appropriate referral or consultation needs.

Agenda

Introduction and grounding
Why this history matters to psychologists
How reproductive medicine shaped psychological interpretations and care of women
Professional authority and the displacement of women’s care
How this history remains relevant to contemporary psychological practice
Historically informed assessment and clinical formulation
Closing integration and reflection

The Zoom session is scheduled for 75 minutes: 5 minutes for arrival and technical needs, 60 minutes of instructional content, and an optional 10-minute period for questions and discussion.

About Dr. Cortney Beasley

Cortney Beasley, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and the founder of Where Mamas Can Breathe and Put In Black LLC. Her work centers women and mothers, with particular attention to reproductive and perinatal mental health, trauma, anxiety, identity transitions, and the many ways women’s lives are shaped by their embodied experiences and the contexts in which they live.

Dr. Beasley brings a culturally responsive, relational, and holistic perspective to her clinical and educational work. Her approach reflects an understanding of women’s psychological experiences within the fullness of their lives, including their physical health, relationships, caregiving responsibilities, culture, spirituality, history, and everyday realities.

Conflicts of interest: None.

Commercial support: There is no commercial support for this program.

How credit works

Participants must attend all 60 minutes of instructional content to receive CE credit. Attendance will be verified through Zoom records, and partial credit will not be awarded.
Participants must complete the required assessment of learning and earn a score of at least 75% (6 of 8 correct) before CE credit can be awarded.
Participants will be invited to complete a program evaluation following the course.
Participants who meet the CE requirements will receive their Certificate of Attendance electronically within 3 business days of completing the assessment.
Participants should have access to Zoom, an internet-connected device, and a stable internet connection, and are encouraged to join a few minutes early to address any technical issues.

Continuing education credit

This program offers 1 CE credit through Put In Black LLC, an American Psychological Association-approved sponsor of continuing education for psychologists.

Professionals from other disciplines should consult their licensing or credentialing board to confirm whether continuing education from an APA-approved sponsor is accepted toward their requirements.

CE credit is not required to attend.

Refunds, grievances, and accessibility

Read the refund, cancellation, grievance, accessibility, and recording policies. Questions or accommodation requests: cortney@putinblack.com.