POSTPARTUM ANXIETY & BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS SERIES

Dr. Parilla is board certified in both Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Addiction Medicine. She is part of the OB clinical leadership team for the Illinois Perinatal Quality Collaborative's initiative "Mothers and Neonates affected by Opioids." She is a speaker for the Buprenorphine Waiver Course jointly sponsored by ACOG and ASAM. She also serves on the Illinois Morbidity and Mortality Review Committee, specifically the subcommittee that reviews homicides and overdoses. She was the recipient of the March of Dimes Physician Award in 2016 for her work in the area of opioid use disorders in pregnancy.

Dr. Parilla received her undergraduate and medical degree from Stony Brook University, and her fellowship training at Northwestern University, where stayed on as a full-time faculty member for 14 years. She then spent the next 14 years with Advocate Medical Group, where she served as the Director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Lutheran General Hospital. She joined Rush Medical Group in April 2018.

Patrick B. McGrath, PhD, is the Assistant Vice President of Residential Services for AMITA Health Behavioral Medicine Institute. He is the Executive Director of the Foglia Family Foundation Residential Treatment Center and the Clinical Director for the Center for Anxiety and OCD and the School Anxiety / School Refusal Programs at AMITA Health Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board and the Conference Planning Committee of the International OCD Foundation, as well as the President of OCD Midwest and Anxiety Centers of Illinois. He is also a Conference Reviewer for the Anxiety and Depression Association of America and a member of the Speakers Bureau and Conference Planning Committee for the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. He is the author of a stress management workbook called “Don’t Try Harder, Try Different,” as well as “The OCD Answer Book,” and has been featured on radio and TV stations across the country, including National Public Radio and PBS. He was also featured on the Discovery Health Channel’s Documentary “Anxious,” and on three episodes of “Hoarding: Buried Alive,” for The Learning Channel. Dr. McGrath lectures internationally on the treatment of Anxiety Disorders.

Patrick B. McGrath, PhD, is the Assistant Vice President of Residential Services for AMITA Health Behavioral Medicine Institute. He is the Executive Director of the Foglia Family Foundation Residential Treatment Center and the Clinical Director for the Center for Anxiety and OCD and the School Anxiety / School Refusal Programs at AMITA Health Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board and the Conference Planning Committee of the International OCD Foundation, as well as the President of OCD Midwest and Anxiety Centers of Illinois. He is also a Conference Reviewer for the Anxiety and Depression Association of America and a member of the Speakers Bureau and Conference Planning Committee for the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. He is the author of a stress management workbook called “Don’t Try Harder, Try Different,” as well as “The OCD Answer Book,” and has been featured on radio and TV stations across the country, including National Public Radio and PBS. He was also featured on the Discovery Health Channel’s Documentary “Anxious,” and on three episodes of “Hoarding: Buried Alive,” for The Learning Channel. Dr. McGrath lectures internationally on the treatment of Anxiety Disorders.

Lita is the Coordinator of the Pregnancy and Postpartum Mood & Anxiety Disorder Program at AMITA Health/Alexian Brothers. She developed the first perinatal intensive outpatient program in the state of Illinois that opened its doors in August 2015 and has now served over 500 patients. In addition to her current role at AMITA Health/Alexian Brothers she is a Perinatal Crisis Counselor for the Illinois Mom’s Line, Secretary on the Board of Directors for Postpartum Support International as well as a Board Member for the International Marce Society for Perinatal Mental Health. She is also the co-coordinator of the Postpartum Depression Illinois Alliance.

Lita has lectured on perinatal mood disorders in local, state and national settings. She started a quarterly Perinatal Mental Health Provider breakfast for local clinicians to learn and network. She is an active member of a quarterly Perinatal Mental Health Provider Clinical Consulting group and maintains memberships with Postpartum Support International, the National Association of Social Workers and the National Association of Perinatal Social Workers.

Lita is the Coordinator of the Pregnancy and Postpartum Mood & Anxiety Disorder Program at AMITA Health/Alexian Brothers. She developed the first perinatal intensive outpatient program in the state of Illinois that opened its doors in August, 2015 and has now served over 500 patients. In addition to her current role at AMITA Health/Alexian Brothers she is a Perinatal Crisis Counselor for the Illinois Mom’s Line, Secretary on the Board of Directors for Postpartum Support International as well as a Board Member for the International Marce Society for Perinatal Mental Health. She is also the co-coordinator of the Postpartum Depression Illinois Alliance.

Lita has lectured on perinatal mood disorders in local, state and national settings. She started a quarterly Perinatal Mental Health Provider breakfast for local clinicians to learn and network. She is an active member of a quarterly Perinatal Mental Health Provider Clinical Consulting group and maintains memberships with Postpartum Support International, the National Association of Social Workers and the National Association of Perinatal Social Workers.

In 2017, Lita was involved in advocacy, providing expert testimony with Dr Susan Benjamin Feingold in support of Illinois House Bill 1764 (now PA 100-0574) that allows for perinatal mood disorders to be considered as mitigating factors for sentencing in crimes.

In 2018, Postpartum Support International created a certification exam for Perinatal Mental Health clinicians, and Lita was part of the team of experts that wrote the exam with Pearson-Vue. Lita is a member of the Illinois Department of Public Health Maternal Mortality Review Committee on Violent Deaths, a project to review maternal deaths caused by homicide, suicide and substance abuse to identify opportunities for intervention.