23 Aug 2026
Skip navigation Search or ask a question Create Avatar image Friends Living Well Podcast 039: Lindsay Clancy — A Clinical Examination
This is not a story about one diagnosis. It’s a story about what can happen when mental health, postpartum changes, hormones, psychosis, clinical decision-making, and a system of care intersect.
For the first time, Kelsey and I are taking on a true crime case on the podcast — the case of Lindsay Clancy.
We chose to discuss this case because of the enormous amount of conversation surrounding postpartum mental health, psychosis, women’s hormone health, suicide, medication, psychiatric treatment, and the clinical decisions made throughout Lindsay’s care.
And we wanted to slow the conversation down.
In this episode, we discuss:
• Lindsay’s postpartum mental health history and the progression of her symptoms
• Postpartum depression, anxiety & postpartum psychosis — and how they differ
• What psychosis actually is and how it can present
• The role hormones and reproductive transitions can play in mental health
• The importance of assessing risk, changes in presentation, and functional impairment
• Lindsay’s treatment history and the clinicians involved in her care
• Medication and treatment decisions
• Clinical red flags and opportunities for intervention
• Ethical considerations in mental health treatment
• What we know about the timeline leading up to the deaths of her children
• The intersection of suicide, psychosis, postpartum mental illness and violence
• The questions we believe are important to ask about the treatment she received
• And the difficult reality of trying to understand a case like this without reducing it to a single diagnosis or explanation
This conversation is not about excusing what happened. And it is not about sensationalizing it.
It is about asking difficult clinical questions.
What did the clinicians know?
What could they reasonably have known at the time?
What signs may have warranted a different response?
Where does clinical responsibility begin and end?
And what can this case teach us about the way we understand and treat severe postpartum mental illness?
We also want to acknowledge that this is our first time covering a true crime case — and this case involves an active criminal proceeding. We know there are going to be different perspectives, interpretations, and opinions about both the case and our discussion of it.
We genuinely welcome your feedback.
If there are places where you think we missed context, interpreted something differently than you did, or could have approached something more thoughtfully, tell us. We want this to be a conversation, not a declaration that we have every answer.
A note from Kelsey & Nikita:
We are mental health professionals discussing this case from a clinical and educational perspective. We are not members of Lindsay Clancy’s treatment team, we have never treated or evaluated her, and we do not have access to confidential clinical records. Our discussion is based on publicly available information and should not be interpreted as a diagnosis, clinical evaluation, legal opinion, or definitive determination of what occurred. Because this is an active legal matter, information may continue to emerge and our understanding of the case may change as additional evidence becomes available.
This episode discusses child death, suicide, postpartum mental illness, psychosis, psychiatric treatment, and violence against children. Please take care of yourself when deciding whether this conversation is appropriate for you.
We don't believe difficult conversations should be avoided because they're uncomfortable. We believe they should be approached with care, curiosity, humility, and a willingness to ask better questions.
Find us at: www.FullLivingWellness.com
