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Mental health expert appeals for adequate psychological evaluation for Berbice mother who killed daughter, 7
(Kaieteur News) – There is no doubt that psychological evaluation and treatment must be initiated even as the law takes its course against Sarah Elizabeth Shivpersaud who killed her seven-year-old daughter and attempted to take her own life as well as that of her toddler son.
This is the opinion of US-based Guyanese clinical psychotherapist, Shane Mark Tull who in an invited comment with this newspaper called for an independent psychological evaluation to be conducted on the woman. On Sunday last, Shivpersaud took to social media and made a post asking that ‘God will forgive her,’ before committing the horrific act. Tull noted “Just by looking at the circumstances of this case, one can tell that this is not normal behavior. No mother in her right mind would want to harm more so kill her child. It’s just not something that mothers do.”
“I do believe an independent evaluation should be conducted because I find that a lot of local therapists are quick to dismiss concerns but by my understanding, it seems that she was suffering, from some kind of depression in particular postpartum depression which was compounded by domestic issues.”
Sarah Elizabeth Shivpersaud in a post before killing her daughter and attempting to kill her one-year-old son.
The psychotherapist explained it would not be a stretch to conclude Shivpersaud had a predisposition to postpartum depression which symptoms can last longer than the first two years after giving birth, once left untreated.
He explained that symptoms of the condition include intense sadness, hopelessness, severe anxiety, irritability, lack of interest in the baby, or withdrawal from loved ones. “Some women after they give birth, they go into a mild depression; most women get up pretty quickly. But some women go into a cycle of depression that can be severe, this leads to tragic outcomes. When you think of what she was probably already going through the onset of this new baby, an older child and the husband leaving, all of those things could be triggering.”
Tull noted that no person is the same and should be judged by the same yardstick.
He emphasized “For a woman, your body goes through a whole lot to give birth. It’s a traumatic experience…So it changes you physically; it changes your hormone. It impacts on the way your brain reacts to certain things. If you look at childbirth as a type of trauma, for some women, it’s like experiencing an accident, everyone experienced things differently and recover differently. Most women experience childbirth, and they come out fine, and they’re happy to have their baby, and they emotionally connect with the child. But some women don’t…”
Added to this, Tull said a major risk factor in terms of someone’s mental health is their economic status.” I think poverty is a major contributor and if you’re a poor woman with two young children, and the man you are depending on walks out on you it compounds how you feel about yourself, and it impacts how you feel… can I take care of these children on my own? Because this person who is supposed to be helping me just walked out. Do I have other resources? While, for the most part, most women would battle down and get a job and take care of their children and be fine. Some, women will not. They will, break,” he asserted.
The mental health expert made it clear nevertheless that he is by no means saying that the mother should not face consequences for her criminal act.
“I’m hoping that she has a good lawyer, and they’re able to connect her with a good psychiatrist evaluate her, and not necessarily the government psychiatrist because, they’re probably going to say, ‘Oh yeah, She’s okay. She’s okay for trial,’ and that’s not exactly a proper evaluation.” “That’s not something I would trust. I would definitely encourage them to get an independent psychiatrist to do an independent evaluation of her. I really think that a real good psychological evaluation would be beneficial for her. I know a lot of people are angry at her and rightfully so, but somethings need a deeper assessment…”
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