Audrey Summers Farooqui, MD, UofL Health, helps women maintain their mental health
LOUISVILLE — A common phrase people use when talking about their overall mood and mental health is the importance of “finding my happy place.” It’s fair to say that for Audrey Summers Farooqui, MD, that happy place is right in her hometown of Louisville.
A self-described “Louisville lifer,” Summers was born in Louisville, but grew up elsewhere. Her father worked as an environmental and marine biologist and her mother was a labor and delivery nurse. Their careers led them to Lebanon, Kentucky, during Summers’ elementary school years, and then to Evansville, Indiana, where she attended middle and high school. She finally returned to Louisville, enrolling at the University of Louisville.
“Healthcare and science have always been a big part of my background, but medicine was not always on my mind as a career choice,” says Summers, who had an interest in graphic design and photography. “I planned to go to art school, but in high school I had the opportunity to shadow physicians, nurses, physical therapists, veterinarians. I just fell in love with it.”
She graduated from UofL with a BS in cellular and molecular biology and stayed at UofL for medical school, graduating in 2020. Her primary interest in medical school was OB-GYN until she decided to complete a residency in psychiatry at the UofL School of Medicine during the pandemic.
“When I did my psychiatry rotation as a third-year medical student, I was fascinated by mental health issues and the treatments available,” Summers says. “As I progressed through my medical school training, I came across this sub-specialty of psychiatry called reproductive psychiatry. Reproductive psychiatry focuses on women’s mental health across the reproductive lifespan.”
Summers holds several roles at UofL Health & UofL School of Medicine. She joined the faculty in 2024, serving as an assistant professor. She leads the Women’s Mental Health Clinic at UofL Physicians and directs the Psychiatric Consult-Liaison Service at UofL Health-UofL Hospital. She is also the medical director of KyCOMPASS (Kentucky Consultation and Outreach for Maternal Psychiatry and Support Services. See sidebar). As if her schedule was not full enough, Summers also presents regionally and nationally on reproductive mental health.
“Mental health issues in pregnancy and postpartum are all too common and, unfortunately, very undertreated,” says Summers. “There are a lot of women who have a lot of stress knowing that they have a complicated pregnancy. The stress can lead to anxiety or the development of depression. Also, if women have a history of mental health conditions, whether it’s a mood or psychotic disorder, and they have a high-risk pregnancy, they might need special attention to their mental health treatment.”
Medication management during pregnancy is understandably a common question with a complex answer. Summers says many of her patients come to the clinic with questions about their medications if they get pregnant.
“A lot of women come to my clinic and say their OB or family doctor told them if they got pregnant, they can’t be on any of their medications. This is not true at all,” Summers says, adding that many patients will stop taking their medications during pregnancy due to their fears of harming their baby. “A general internet search is not very helpful. There is such a stigma with treating mental illness in general but it is especially so in pregnancy. Untreated mental illness can cause complications in pregnancy and postpartum,” says Summers.
Patients who present with mental health issues such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder require intense discussions about medication management and psychiatric treatment during pregnancy and lactation, Summers explains.
While guiding expectant mothers through their pregnancies presents several challenges, postpartum patients present with potentially even more acute circumstances. Postpartum depression or OCD can include intrusive thoughts of harming themselves or their baby.
“In reproductive psychiatry, the woman’s environment plays a large role in her mental health outcomes,” Summers says. “Some women who come to me have very poor social situations. Many women have financial difficulties. Unfortunately, I don’t have a social worker in my clinic, but I do coordinate with the psychiatry and OB-GYN social workers in the hospital to help transition patients and get them the right resources depending on their social and environmental situation.”
Summers is often asked whether or not she measures patients’ hormone levels to determine treatment plans.
“The answer I give them is usually no, because you put two women who are at the same age next to each other, on any given day – even if their menstrual cycles are completely matched up – one person’s hormone level might look different than the person standing next to them,” Summers says. “Every person’s physiology is different. You can’t just measure hormone levels and treat a patient based on that.”
In addition to the misconceptions about hormone levels and the fear of taking medications during pregnancy, Summers says the general lack of understanding of mental health issues contributes to overall maternal morbidity and mortality due to women not seeking appropriate care.
“I think often that stress, lack of sleep, and mood changes during these times of reproductive change can be labeled as normal. They will hear, ‘Women for generations have been dealing with this, why are you different?'” she says. “But that’s not true. These mental health issues have not been fully understood for a long time. Now that we understand them better, we can screen, diagnose, and treat a lot easier, therefore improving the woman’s quality of life and her family’s quality of life. When they have proper mental healthcare and a provider who is confident in the work that they do, it makes all the difference.”
KyCOMPASS: Kentucky Consultation & Outreach for Maternal Psychiatry and Support Services
Launched in December 2025, KyCOMPASS is a statewide, perinatal mental health access program. The program is in response to the state’s maternal health crisis. Kentucky has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the nation, and many of these tragedies stem from untreated perinatal mental health conditions like depression and substance use disorders.
In an effort to change that, KyCOMPASS offers statewide resources designed to support providers who care for women during the perinatal period (pregnancy through one year postpartum). Via the Kentucky Department for Public Health, this service is free for any physician in Kentucky who takes care of perinatal patients.
“Suppose an OB-GYN in rural Kentucky has a complex patient with mental health issues and is not sure how to manage them and can’t get their patient in to see a psychiatrist,” Summers says. “They can place a consult with KyCOMPASS and we can help guide them with treatment planning and medication recommendations. We can get the patient referred to an appropriate therapist or mental health provider and do this quicker than what the physician themselves may be able to do.”
KyCOMPASS offers:
- Secure online portal
- Direct access to licensed reproductive psychiatrists and other mental health professionals via scheduled calls or secure messaging
- Evidence-based care plans including guidance on medications, therapies, and treatment plans
- Streamlined screening support and assistance in interpreting results
- Educational resources, connections to local providers, and quick scheduling for patients
“KyCOMPASS is accessible for any Kentucky-based professional involved in perinatal care including physicians (OB-GYNs, family practitioners, pediatricians), nurses, midwives, therapists, counselors, psychologists, social workers, doulas, peer supporters, case managers, community health workers, and more. By working together, we can prevent unnecessary suffering and strengthen families,” says Summers.