Premenstrual Disorders (PMD) Training for Health & Wellness Providers
Connecting the Dots Between Hormones and Mental Health.
Applied clinical training for therapists and health and wellness providers ready to assess and support clients living with PMDD, PME, and hormonally influenced mental health concerns.
Most therapists have worked with clients whose symptoms become noticeably more intense before their period, even if neither the therapist nor the client has recognized the pattern yet.
A client may describe sudden rage, hopelessness, panic, disconnection, relationship conflict, or suicidal thoughts that seem to appear without explanation. Skills that usually help may stop working. Trauma responses may intensify. ADHD symptoms may become harder to manage. Progress made earlier in the month can suddenly feel inaccessible.
Without an understanding of premenstrual disorders, these experiences can be mistaken for treatment resistance, emotional instability, bipolar disorder, a personality disorder, or a sudden regression in therapy.
Recognizing that hormones may be part of the picture can change the entire course of treatment. But recognition is only the beginning.
This Is Where Cycle-Informed Therapy Begins.
Understanding the pattern helps us recognize what is happening. Knowing how to respond helps us provide better care.
Understanding PMDD
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) is a cyclical mood disorder involving an increased sensitivity to normal hormonal fluctuations. Symptoms emerge during the luteal phase (the weeks/days leading up to menstruation), cause significant distress or impairment, and remit shortly after menstruation begins.
PMDD can affect mood, cognition, physical functioning, identity, relationships, work, and safety. Prospective symptom tracking is essential because the timing of symptoms, not symptoms alone, is central to accurate identification.
Understanding PME
Premenstrual Exacerbation (PME) occurs when an existing condition, such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, ADHD, bipolar disorder, or another mental health concern, becomes significantly worse premenstrually.
Unlike PMDD, symptoms do not fully resolve outside the luteal phase. Distinguishing PME from PMDD is essential because it affects case conceptualization, treatment planning, collaboration with medical providers, and expectations for therapeutic progress.
When clinicians understand the difference among PMDD, PME, and PMS, they can move beyond treating isolated symptoms and begin responding to the client’s full cyclical pattern.
Go Beyond Just Recognizing PMDD.
Let’s Talk About What This Training Offers
This is not simply an introduction to PMDD.
The training establishes the essential foundations of PMDD, PME, PMS, and the menstrual cycle before moving into assessment, case conceptualization, treatment planning, and clinical intervention.
You will learn how to recognize cyclical patterns, assess what may be contributing to a client’s symptoms, and adapt your existing therapeutic approaches to meet the changing needs of the menstrual cycle.
The goal is not to replace the clinical skills you already have. It is to help you apply those skills through a more informed understanding of hormonal sensitivity, the nervous system, trauma, neurodivergence, relationships, and the lived experience of premenstrual disorders.
Here’s What You Will Learn:
Assessment and Differential Diagnosis — Learn how to assess symptom timing, cyclical patterns, functional impairment, risk factors, and co-occurring concerns. Explore how to distinguish PMDD from PME, PMS, and other mental health diagnoses with overlapping symptoms.
Nervous-System and Somatic Support — Understand how hormonal shifts can interact with the stress response, trauma history, and autonomic nervous system. Learn practical, polyvagal-informed, and somatic interventions for supporting regulation during the luteal phase.
Adapting the Therapy You Already Practice — Explore ways to apply CBT, DBT, ACT, IFS-informed parts work, mindfulness, Brainspotting, EMDR, and other trauma-informed approaches through a cycle-informed lens.
Trauma, ADHD, and Neurodivergence — Examine how premenstrual hormonal sensitivity can amplify executive-functioning challenges, sensory overwhelm, emotional dysregulation, protective responses, and existing trauma patterns.
Couples and Relational Applications — Learn how to address the relational impact of PMDD and PME through partner education, luteal agreements, communication strategies, supportive time-outs, boundaries, and post-luteal rupture repair.
Cycle-Informed Treatment Planning — Develop a treatment plan that responds to the client’s changing capacity and clinical needs across the menstrual cycle. Learn when to focus on deeper therapeutic work, preparation, regulation, crisis support, or post-luteal repair.
Safety and Collaborative Care — Recognize PMDD-specific safety concerns, support appropriate crisis planning, and collaborate more effectively with medical and mental health providers while remaining within your professional scope of practice.
Leave With More Than Information.
You will receive a comprehensive collection of provider resources and client-ready materials created to help you translate the training into actual clinical practice.
Resources will include:
PMDD and PME assessment and symptom-tracking tools
Cycle-informed treatment-planning guidance
Luteal-phase regulation and planning resources
Polyvagal and somatic tools for PMDD
PMDD-specific parts-work exercises
Couples communication and relational-support tools
Post-luteal rupture-and-repair resources
Provider-visit preparation materials
PMDD-specific safety-planning resources
Additional research, referral, and treatment resources
You will leave with a clearer framework for understanding premenstrual disorders—and tools you can begin using with clients immediately.
Is This Training Right for You?
This applied, intermediate-level training is designed for:
Licensed and prelicensed psychotherapists
Marriage and family therapists
Clinical social workers
Professional clinical counselors
Psychologists
Psychiatrists and psychiatric providers
Physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals
Qualified health and wellness providers whose work brings them into contact with hormonally influenced mental health concerns
Participants should have foundational knowledge of mental health, helping relationships, or healthcare practice. Previous specialized training in PMDD or PME is not required.
Because professional roles and scopes of practice differ, participants should apply all assessment and intervention material within the boundaries of their own license, training, and professional responsibilities.
Training Details
Course: Premenstrual Disorders: Connecting the Dots Between Hormones and Mental Health
Next Training Date: Fall/Winter 2026, Exact Dates TBD
Instructor: Kimberly Ciardella, PsyD, LMFT
Instructional time: 4 hours
Break: One 30-minute break
Total event length: Approximately 4.5 hours
Formats: In person and live online
In-person location: The Path Wellness Center in El Dorado Hills, California
Materials: Participant workbook, clinical tools, client handouts, and professional resources are included
Registration: Advance registration is required
Early-bird registration: $149 per participant
Standard registration: $189 per participant
Late registration: $199 per participant during the week of the training
The early-bird deadline will be listed with each announced training date. Registering early is encouraged, as space may be limited, particularly for in-person trainings.
Join Us
Meet Your Facilitator
Kimberly Ciardella, PsyD, LMFT
My passion for supporting individuals living with PMDD and PME comes from a place that is both deeply personal and professional. I have lived with PMDD for most of my life, although it took many years, and many misunderstood symptoms, before I finally had a name for what I was experiencing. I intimately understand how deeply these disorders can affect a person’s emotions, sense of self, relationships, and everyday life.
Through navigating my own PMDD journey, years of supporting clients with premenstrual disorders, and what can only be described as a feverish pursuit of learning everything I can about PMDD, PME, hormones, trauma, and the nervous system, I have developed a cycle-informed approach to this work. It brings together meaningful exploration, practical tools, nervous-system support, parts work, and relational healing.
This training grew from everything I wished more providers had understood when I was searching for answers, and everything I have learned through helping clients whose cyclical symptoms were overlooked, misdiagnosed, or treated without recognizing the hormonal pattern underneath them.
Together, we can shorten the path from being misunderstood to receiving informed, compassionate care, and help more people living with PMDD and PME finally feel recognized, supported, and understood.
Clinical Background
✓ Doctor of Psychology
✓ California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
✓ More than 15 years of psychotherapy experience
✓ Founder of The Path Wellness Center
✓ Founder of The PMDD Coach
✓ Professor of Marriage and Family Therapy
Premenstrual Disorders Expertise
✓ More than 8 years specializing in PMDD and PME
✓ Professional Community Member of IAPMD
✓ Advanced training in PMDD and hormonal mental health
✓ Clinical expertise informed by personal lived experience
✓ Presenter at the CAMFT Annual Conference 2025
Kimberly’s work brings together current research, clinical expertise, and lived experience to provide practical, compassionate, and cycle-informed care.
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No previous PMDD-specific training is required. This is a clinical training designed for licensed and pre-licensed therapists, graduate-level trainees, and other health and wellness professionals with foundational knowledge of mental health or client care.
Graduate trainees who are currently seeing clients or preparing to begin clinical work are welcome to attend. The course introduces essential knowledge about PMDD, PME, and cyclical mental health while moving into more advanced areas of assessment, case conceptualization, treatment planning, nervous system support, and relational interventions.
All participants should apply the material within the boundaries of their education, professional role, clinical experience, and supervision.
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This training is designed for licensed and pre-licensed therapists, graduate-level trainees, psychologists, medical providers, and other health and wellness professionals who support clients experiencing premenstrual or cyclical symptoms.
Professionals outside the mental health field are welcome to attend. All participants are responsible for applying the material within the boundaries of their education, professional role, license, clinical experience, and scope of practice.
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Participants will learn how to:
• Differentiate PMDD, PME, and PMS
• Understand hormone sensitivity and the menstrual cycle
• Recognize common diagnostic overlaps and patterns of misdiagnosis
• Use prospective symptom tracking as part of assessment
• Identify safety concerns and develop cycle-informed support plans
• Integrate practical, somatic, cognitive, and nervous system interventions
• Support clients with trauma, ADHD, neurodivergence, or perimenopausal symptoms
• Address the relational impact of premenstrual disorders
• Collaborate more effectively with medical and interdisciplinary providers -
This training provides focused education and practical clinical tools for supporting clients with PMDD, PME, and other cyclical symptoms. It does not provide a separate professional license, certification, or specialist designation.
Participants should represent their training and competence accurately and practice within the limits of their education, experience, professional role, and scope of practice.
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The training introduces evidence-informed strategies drawn from psychoeducation, CBT, DBT, ACT, IFS and parts work, EMDR, Brainspotting, Polyvagal Theory, Somatic Experiencing, and Relational Life Therapy skills.
Participants will explore cycle awareness, nervous system regulation, symptom management, luteal-phase planning, self-compassion, safety planning, medical advocacy, and relational support.
The course does not train participants to practice a complete therapeutic modality or provide medical treatment outside their professional scope.
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Yes. PMDD and PME often affect communication, intimacy, conflict patterns, parenting, and a couple’s sense of connection.
The training includes tools for helping clients and their partners identify cyclical patterns, communicate needs, create early luteal agreements, use structured time-outs, reduce personalization, and repair after difficult episodes.
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The training includes 4-hours of instructional content and one 30-minute non-credit break.
The total scheduled training time is approximately four and a half hours.
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The training is expected to be offered in two formats:
• Live in person at The Path Wellness Center in El Dorado Hills, California
• Live through an interactive online platformSpecific dates and available formats will be listed when registration opens.
In-person trainings will be held at:
The Path Wellness Center
895 Embarcadero Drive, Suite 207
El Dorado Hills, CA 95762 -
The Path Wellness Center is committed to making its training programs accessible. Our in-person training location is ADA accessible.
Participants who need a disability-related accommodation or have questions about physical or online accessibility should contact the Program Administrator at info@thepathwellnesscenter.com as early as possible before the training.
We will make reasonable efforts to respond to accommodation requests based on the participant’s needs, the training format, and the resources available.
FAQs
Other questions? We’ve got answers.
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Early-bird registration is $149 per participant. After the early-bird registration period ends, the standard registration fee is $189 per participant. Late registration during the week of the training is $199 per participant.
The early-bird deadline will be listed with each announced training date.
All training materials are included with registration.
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Participants will receive a comprehensive workbook, presentation materials, and a collection of practical provider resources and client-ready tools.
Materials include cycle and symptom-tracking tools, PMDD and PME assessment guidance, cycle-informed treatment-planning resources, luteal-phase planning exercises, nervous system and somatic interventions, safety-planning tools, relational and couples exercises, and resources for medical advocacy and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Materials are intended for the participant’s professional use and may not be reproduced, resold, published, or distributed beyond the permissions provided with the course.
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Yes. Advance registration is required because space may be limited and materials are prepared for each participant.
Registration will open once training dates are announced.
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Participants who need to cancel must email info@thepathwellnesscenter.com at least 48 hours before the scheduled course to receive a full refund.
Approved refunds will be returned to the original payment method within 10 business days. Cancellations received less than 48 hours before the course and participant no-shows are not eligible for a refund.
When space and scheduling allow, registration may be transferred to a future offering of the same course.
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If The Path Wellness Center cancels a course, registered participants may choose to transfer their registration to another available training date or receive a full refund.
Refunds for provider-canceled courses will be returned to the original payment method within 10 business days. The Path Wellness Center is not responsible for travel, lodging, childcare, lost income, or other expenses incurred by participants.
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All required training materials will be provided. Participants may wish to bring a notebook, personal comfort items, or anything else that supports their ability to participate throughout the training.
Coffee, tea, water and light snacks will be provided.
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his training is designed to provide four continuing education credits for eligible California mental health professionals. CE provider approval is currently pending.
Complete eligibility and approval information will be provided before registration opens. Continuing education credit cannot be guaranteed until the approval process has been completed.
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Participants seeking continuing education credit must attend the full instructional portion of the training, complete all required attendance-verification procedures, and submit a course evaluation.
Partial continuing education credit will not be awarded. Breaks are not included in the calculation of CE hours.
Additional participation, attendance-verification, and post-test requirements for live online courses will be provided before registration.
Eligible participants who complete all attendance, participation, and evaluation requirements will receive a course completion certificate following the training.
Instructions for receiving, retaining, or requesting a replacement certificate will be included with the course materials and training policies.
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Participants may submit a complaint or grievance by emailing the Program Administrator at info@thepathwellnesscenter.com.
Receipt of the grievance will be acknowledged within two business days. The Program Administrator will review the concern, relevant course information, and any additional information provided by the participant. If the grievance involves the Program Administrator, an impartial designee will complete the review.
A written response, proposed resolution, or corrective action will be provided within 10 business days whenever possible. If additional time is required, the participant will be notified of the reason for the delay and the expected response date.
Grievances will be handled respectfully, fairly, and confidentially to the extent possible. Records of the grievance and resolution will be maintained in accordance with continuing education requirements and reported to CAMFT when required.
If you have more questions than what is answered above please email us at info@thepathwellnesscenter.com
JOIN US TODAY
JOIN US TODAY
READY TO DEEPEN YOUR IMPACT?
Become the Provider Clients Have Been Searching For
For someone living with PMDs, finding a provider who recognizes the pattern, understands the depth of the experience, and knows how to help can change everything.
Join us in creating a more informed, compassionate, and hopeful path forward for those living with premenstrual disorders.