Perinatal Mental Health
Perinatal mood and anxiety Disorders
Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders can occur during pregnancy, after giving birth, after your partner gives birth, or after a pregnancy loss. They can happen to anyone, and can affect the whole family system. If you are struggling with postpartum depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder, please know that it is not your fault, you are not alone, and there is help!
Preparing for Baby
Becoming a parent can be an amazing journey, as well as a stressful one. Suddenly, you aren’t sleeping much and you’re at least partially responsible for a tiny human. Whether you are wanting support yourself, or you and your partner want a space to prepare for changes, explore new roles, and increase communication, I would be happy to support you.
Navigating the transition to parenthood
As a parent myself, I have learned that parenting is a constantly changing and evolving job. With young children, it can feel like the minute you’ve figured out how to cope with one challenge, your child has moved on to something else. I work primarily through a positive discipline lens, which emphasizes connection between parent and child and helping the parent to explore the needs their child may be expressing through behavior. I also base my work with parents on the belief that you want what is best for your child and you are doing your best with the tools that you have.
Some things that I can help with are:
exploring parenting roles and division of labor
creating routines
exploring your needs and the needs of your family
stress management and self care for parents
Birth Trauma
The birth itself can be traumatic, as can procedures or separations following birth. Birth can also activate old trauma that has been stored in the nervous system. We can explore your birth story, work on techniques for regulating your nervous system, or use EMDR for trauma processing.