“The birth year” begins at conception.
It extends through the “fourth trimester” (baby’s first three months of life). Healthy attachment to a child begins during this time, which means prenatal and postpartum therapy sessions are a gift to your child, as much as they are a lifeline for you.
If pregnancy has felt emotionally harder than you anticipated, rest assured that you are not alone. Most of us experience lots of emotional ups and downs during this time, and about half of women diagnosed with postpartum depression or anxiety begin experiencing symptoms during pregnancy.
About 80% of new moms experience baby blues.
Mood swings in the first few weeks are part of a normal adjustment period. Postpartum depression occurs in all cultural backgrounds, races, and socioeconomic groups — and it affects 1 in 10 dads too.
If your pregnancy or birth was emotionally or physically traumatic, I can help. We can address and explore your experience in a way that is healing so you can thrive and fully experience a rich bond and relationship with your baby.
My hope is that you will learn to be compassionate with yourself and come to understand and integrate all the pieces of this life-changing journey in order to transcend symptoms. If you wish, I am able to work in conjunction with a variety of other practitioners toward the common goal of supporting you.
During individual counseling sessions, we will explore past and present thoughts, patterns, and insights — and how those can affect you at points in time throughout the whole birth year. Together we will develop a self-care plan and we may use techniques such as awareness exercises to help you notice difficulty as it arises.