Perinatal Therapy
Could You Use Some Support During The Journey To Motherhood And The Perinatal Period?
Has the process of starting a family impacted your mental health and wellness?
Have you been experiencing:
Stress related to difficulties with trying to conceive and getting pregnant?
Trouble adjusting to the profound changes that occur while being pregnant, delivering your baby, or caring for your newborn?
Overall anxiousness during pregnancy about whether your baby is healthy, managing doctor visits and tests, or the impending labor and delivery?
Challenges with all the demands of newborn care during the postpartum period, leaving you struggling with what is considered the “fourth trimester”, the first 12 weeks after giving birth?
Or perhaps you’ve gone through a very difficult experience from pregnancy loss or miscarriage and are now experiencing grief and wondering how to move through it. With the challenges you’ve faced and how different life has seemed lately, you might wonder if perinatal therapy can help provide some relief, the ability to find peace or comfort, and a renewed sense of connection to yourself
The Demands Surrounding The Journey Of Conception Can Be All Consuming
Our mental health during the reproduction and family building journey can really be impacted. Whether you are dealing with anxious thoughts, feelings of isolation, or depression, the experience of becoming a mother isn’t always joyous.
If you are trying to conceive through fertility treatments, it can be all-consuming to track cycles, time shots, or feel the pain of multiple rounds of IVF. Constant disappointment, heartbreak, and grief surrounding this process are hard to navigate.
No matter what stage of the reproductive or perinatal process you are in, therapy could provide a compassionate listener to support you, help you take time to care for yourself, process what you’ve been through, and prioritize your wellness.
Reach out today!
The Challenges Of Becoming A Mother Can Blindside Us
The difficulty of becoming a mother and mothering can feel completely shocking when it is something we wanted and went through so much to get there, and then it is not everything we expected.
Postpartum depression and Perinatal anxiety can impact many women, and recognizing when to reach out for help through therapy can be difficult due to fear or a lack of hope. On top of all of the struggles after having a baby, we so often face external pressures to resume our previous life, like returning to the workplace or “bouncing back” to our pre-baby body as well.
Becoming a mother is a profound experience, and the expectations from society, from the people in our lives, and from ourselves can be so high. It can feel completely impossible to find balance and well-being. We’re often in charge of many responsibilities—cleaning up messes, feeding everyone, scheduling doctor appointments, and making sure that our kids are following a healthy routine. The mental and emotional load can be so overwhelming.
More Attention Today Is Being Put On How Motherhood Changes Women
The term “matrescence” developed as a way to describe and encompass the many changes that happen to women as they become mothers. Akin to “adolescence” but for motherhood, this concept has gained attention in maternal mental health care and comes at a time when therapists recognize the need for more understanding of how difficult the postpartum period or the time after childbirth is for new moms. (1)
Another term that shines a light on the mental health conditions that can affect women during pregnancy and after childbirth is Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMAD). These disorders can include depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, PTSD, and postpartum psychosis. It's estimated that about 1 in 5 women experience a PMAD. (2)
There are not enough vulnerable conversations about how legitimately difficult the reproductive journey is and how to prepare, but with the right help and support through perinatal counseling, you can feel better.
Perinatal Therapy Can Help Restore Your Well-Being
IMy work as a therapist is focused on the holistic aspects of the reproductive journey, the perinatal period, as well as motherhood, including the completely transformative process of matrescence. Whether you’ve struggled with fertility, pregnancy, labor, and delivery, or taking care of your newborn, why should you go through this alone or without the support of therapy if you need it?
I see perinatal therapy as a mind-body-soul experience, and we will explore what each facet looks like for you in your reproductive mental health journey. During sessions, we’ll make space for narratives, explore your fears, and talk about what your well-being and holistic healing look like for you. We will hold space together for your hopes for having a baby and building a family as well as the immense joy a child brings. I can help you navigate how you may be struggling to find your way and find your new identity, or find connection, ease, or peace.
You’ll have the space to develop a support plan as well, receiving resources and recommendations tailored to your unique situation, including connecting you with practitioners as needed like doulas, support groups, reproductive psychiatry, etc.
My Approach Can Help You Look Beyond Your Symptoms To Find Your Inner Wisdom
I use a Jungian depth-oriented approach in therapy, that involves looking beyond your symptoms to the unconscious, thinking about what your dreams and daydreams can tell us. Often, your unconscious mind can provide messages about certain parts of yourself that you might reject or repress. Jungian-informed therapy enables us to revisit and welcome all parts of ourselves back, finding a state of wholeness and meaning in our lives.
We will also utilize mindfulness-based therapy including grounding and breathwork techniques during sessions that often help as a slowing down practice. When you come to therapy we can begin with addressing what's happening in your body in the moment whether you are pregnant, trying to conceive, or in the postpartum period. We might include sensory and somatic approaches such as paying attention to how your feelings can be represented by something like a sound, a color, or something tangible to provide insight into its meaning.
Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) is another approach I draw on when working with maternal mental health and the idea that we offer kindness and acceptance to ourselves because what we are doing is hard!
We will work with dark (Shadow) and light aspects of the self, toward integration, claiming your wholeness, and finding your sense of self and creativity. My goal as a perinatal therapist is to have you leave sessions with a deeper understanding of yourself, feeling understood, emotionally held, and witnessed in all of the parts of yourself.
You will also learn how to process challenging emotions both with connection to experiences from your past, as well as experiences in the here and now. With help and support, relief is possible, and things can get easier.
You Might Still Have Questions Or Concerns About Perinatal Therapy…
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We often do not talk enough about trying to conceive, miscarriages, fertility treatments, and the challenges of matrescence. These are life-altering experiences that are completely transformative, and trying to push them down or keep them a secret can impact our mental health.
Perinatal therapy at my practice is a confidential space to explore these things, where you can experience meaningful improvement in your sense of wellness and ability to be present with what is happening in your life. While we might discuss topics that are upsetting at the moment for you, addressing them and processing them in a safe space is the path to healing.
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If the things you are struggling with are having an impact on your daily life, it can really help to talk with someone who completely understands what you’re going through and can help you develop skills and a support plan.
Also, you could benefit from therapy as an act of self-care for even seemingly "small" problems, serving as a space to just simply talk out the happenings of the week during pregnancy or as a new mom. Wherever you are in your reproductive journey, you could benefit from the same space and dedicate time to nurture the self.
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I bring advanced training to my therapy practice in Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders, as well as Grief and Loss, through the Seleni Institute, and PostPartum Support International. I have a PhD in Depth Psychology, which goes deeper into the sense of self and pursuing wholeness in order to be the mother you desire to be. I am also a mother of three, a partner, and someone who has benefitted from seeking holistic support myself. I bring an honest and relatable approach to therapy and want to support you in getting relief and peace.
Start Finding Support And Relief In The Perinatal Period Today
I welcome you to reach out so we can talk about how my therapy practice can help you find balance during the perinatal period, at any point in your reproductive journey. Contact me for a free 15-minute consultation at (917) 426-4145 or through my Contact form.
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