When We Cant Look Away: Reflections on What the Lindsay Clancy Case Means for All of Us

I’ve been thinking about sharing some reflections on the Lindsay Clancy case and what it is stirring up for my clients, for myself, and for all of us at the practice. I’ve held off because it’s so, so complicated, so big, so hard. There are many things to say about this case: the failures of the mental health system, the support structures that buckled, the weight of unspeakable loss; there is no way I can speak to all of it.  We are all reeling. 

I know I’m not alone in this. As a perinatal psychologist,  as a mom, this one is hard to look away from and yet also so hard to watch. I’ve heard this sentiment from so many of my clients over the past few weeks. That something about this case, about Lindsay herself. There is a way in which she feels so familiar, so like someone you know, perhaps almost like yourself. And this is where I think it gets tricky.

Many of the things that Lindsay reportedly sought therapy for- insomnia, anxiety, overwhelm, loneliness, hopelessness- most postpartum moms know those feeling. Intrusive scary thoughts- most moms know about those too.

While postpartum psychosis is extremely rare, postpartum depression and anxiety are not. They are distinct disorders. One does not cause or turn into the other, but there can be symptom overlap.

I think this is where we can start to feel a sense of tension. The parts of us that feel the pull of recognition and similarity, and the parts of us that want to see ourselves as different. To see how this could happen to anyone and also to believe that this could never happen to us. This dissonance is hard to hold, and it also sucks people into the relentless viewing and analysis of this case. We don’t want to look, but we can’t look away. 

I hear this tension baked into the conspiracy theories, the denial by some factions of the internet of postpartum psychosis.  We want SOMEONE to be responsible for this.  We want it to make sense. We want to point a finger at the one thing that went wrong so we can make sure it never happens again. 

And yet,  we can’t untangle what happened to Lindsay Clancy and to her children from the systems of support that fail moms every day. 

Tell me why in 2026, we don’t have a separate diagnosis in the DSM for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Tell me why reproductive psychiatry is not standard training for all psychiatry residents and why all therapists aren’t educated in perinatal mental health. Why don’t we have universal paid parental leave? Why aren’t night nurses and doulas paid for by your insurance? Why is there so much pressure on new moms to feel a certain way, act a certain way, mask all that feels hard? Why is there so much stigma around perinatal mental health? Why is it that you can beg for help and not receive it because our systems are set up such that you have to be an imminent threat to yourself to receive care? 

I think this is why this case echoes for so many of us. As the trial progresses, we see the car wreck happening in slow motion, and we know it could happen to anyone. We see Lindsay, and we see ourselves. 

I can't offer a fix for this one. There is no technique or tool. This is hard. I can assure our readers, our clients: you absolutely can bring this up in therapy. Whatever it stirs up for you: grief, sadness, fear, anger, maybe even questions about your own scary thoughts. Don't be afraid to bring this to therapy. We are here to help.