Catherine Birndorf, MD, specializes in Reproductive Psychiatry, an important area in mental health which helps women with emotional and psychiatric conditions before, during and after pregnancy and throughout the life cycle. Dr. Birndorf helps patients understand their specific psychiatric problems during times of hormonal changes from menses to menopause. She works with her patients and their families to focus on these pyschiatic issues and provides a range of treatement options during this time of transition in a woman's life.

Dr. Birndorf's services include comprehensive diagnostic consultation, psychoeducation, expert second opinions, and collaboration with other treatment providers. She provides both psychopharmacology and psychotherapy.

Catherine Birndorf, MD's areas of clinical expertise include:

• PMS and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD)
• Pre-pregnancy psychiatric consultation
• Management of Psychiatric Issues During Pregnancy
• Fertility and Mental Health Issues
• Postpartum Illnesses, including breastfeeding and medications
• Transitions to Motherhood Perimenopause and related emotional issues

Dr. Birndorf is currently completing her first book, co-authored with Lucy Danziger, Editor-in-Chief at SELF Magazine, entitled The Nine Rooms of Happiness, to be published by Hyperion March 2, 2010.

Ask any woman how she’s feeling. And even when things look pretty darn great from the outside, chances are that at least onething (and it may seem minor to others) is nagging at her, making her feel less than spectacular, bringing her down. She’s thinking, I’m too fat; my husband doesn’t help enough around the house; my friend is going to be mad if I don’t call her back; why don’t my kids try harder at school; my job is less than inspiring; and whatever happened to that old boyfriend, the one who got away?      

Whether it’s the size of our thighs or of our bank accounts, there seems always to be something that isn’t measuring up to our high standards—and we let the discontent flow into other areas of our lives as well, distracting us from taking pleasure in what’s going right.       

In The Nine Rooms of Happiness, Lucy Danziger, editor-in-chief of SELF magazine, and women’s-health psychiatrist Catherine Birndorf, use the metaphor of a house to release us from this phenomenon. In this house, the living room is where we deal with friendships and our social-life, the bedroom is where we explore intimacy, romance, relationships, and sex, the bathroom is for issues relating to health and body image, the kitchen is for nourishment and the division of chores, and so on.       

Our “inner house” can have eight beautifully designed and organized rooms and one messy one, and still we focus on the mess.       

The Nine Rooms of Happiness pin-points common self-destructive mess obsessions, and offers key processes that will clean up this emotional architecture. After each room is “clean,” Danziger and Birndorf show us how to spend time on ourselves figuring out what is most meaningful to us—finding larger passion and purpose that makes returning to the rest of our emotional house a pleasure, no matter what calamity or mess awaits. The result? After reading this book you’ll think differently about the things that are bringing you down, and be able to live a happier, more joy filled life, in every room of your self.