Perinatal Mental Health Therapy for Pregnancy, Postpartum, and Parenthood
Compassionate, evidence-based support for anxiety, overwhelm, and identity shifts throughout pregnancy, postpartum, and early parenting (and beyond).
Online therapy for moms and parents in California, Illinois, and Missouri
Struggling emotionally during pregnancy or postpartum? You're not alone.
You were told this would be a joyful time…so why don’t you feel this way?
The sleepless nights. The identity shifts. The anxiety. The loneliness. The pressure to feel grateful when you’re just trying to keep it together. If you’re facing emotional challenges during pregnancy or postpartum, please know you are not alone and none of this is your fault. Your feelings, whether it’s overwhelm, grief, or anger, are ALL valid and deserve to be heard.
Common emotional struggles during the perinatal period include:
Snapping at your partner or feeling growing resentment
Crying unexpectedly, or feeling emotionally flat
Feeling disconnected from yourself or your baby
Battling intrusive thoughts or constant worry
Replaying "what if" scenarios and worst-case outcomes
Feeling overstimulated or shut down by daily demands
Wondering who you are outside of being a parent
Therapy for pregnancy and postpartum can help you feel like yourself again.
As a therapist who specializes in perinatal mental health, I offer a safe, non-judgmental space to process what you're going through. Whether you're dealing with postpartum depression, birth trauma, or simply trying to adjust to this new version of yourself, we’ll work together to untangle the overwhelm and reconnect you to your inner strength.
What You Might Be Navigating in the Perinatal Period
The perinatal period brings emotional, physical, and relational shifts that can feel overwhelming. If you’re struggling to adjust, know that you are not broken. Therapy offers space to process these changes and move toward healing with support and compassion.
Pregnancy and Postpartum Depression Support
Persistent sadness or emotional numbness, irritability or mood swings, guilt, shame, or feelings of failure, or a loss of interest in things you once enjoyed
Perinatal Anxiety & Intrusive Thoughts
Ongoing worry, restlessness, not trusting others to care for your baby, fear something will go wrong, or scary “what if” thoughts
Identity Changes and Relationship Struggles
Not knowing who you are anymore, navigating strained relationships with family and friends, pressure around what society expects from you, or struggling with self-compassion and kindness
Postpartum Rage or Resentment
Intense anger directed towards yourself or others, feeling sense of injustice or inequity in division of the mental load, or a lower threshold for frustration or annoyance
Carrying the Mental Load of Motherhood
Feeling like you can’t rest, all the responsibility of the household falls on you, having trouble quieting the mind, or feeling like you’re one request away from losing it
Relationship Strain & Communication Challenges
Bringing a baby into the family changes everything. You might be feeling emotionally distant or unseen by your partner, struggling with mismatched expectations, arguing more, or shutting down communication
My Approach to Perinatal Mental Health Therapy
My therapy style is gentle, relational, and deeply collaborative. I firmly believe that true healing occurs when you feel genuinely seen and recognized, rather than simply being "fixed.” To support you through pregnancy, postpartum, and early parenting, I draw from a few different therapeutic modalities to create a well-rounded approach:
Internal Family Systems (IFS): This method helps you relate to the various emotional parts of yourself with increased curiosity and compassion, making it easier to understand your inner landscape.
IFS can be helpful for: postpartum rage, intrusive thoughts, shame, self-criticism, and identity shifts
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT): This approach works to deepen connection and foster a sense of safety in your relationships, encouraging healthier bonds with others, as well as yourself.
EFT can be helpful for: relationship strain, couples communication issues, and disconnection in early parenthood.
Self-Compassion Work: This practice is designed to shift the harsh inner critic that many of us carry, offering you kinder and more forgiving ways to relate to yourself.
Self-compassion work can be helpful for: guilt, shame, low self-worth, or feeling like you’re “not doing enough”
Mindfulness and Somatic Therapies: These techniques help reconnect you to your body and breath, serving as a grounding source amidst life's challenges.
Somatic work can be helpful for: anxiety, overstimulation, intrusive thoughts, and sensory overload
Narrative Therapy: This approach invites you to rewrite painful stories from your past with a sense of agency and context, empowering you to define your own narrative moving forward.
Narrative therapy can be helpful for: identity shifts, grief, cultural/familial expectations, and life transitions
Frequently Asked Questions About Perinatal Mental Health Therapy
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The “baby blues” are common in the first 1–2 weeks after birth and usually resolve on their own. Symptoms include mood swings, tearfulness, and irritability. Postpartum depression, on the other hand, is more intense, lasts longer, and can impact your ability to function day-to-day. If you’re feeling persistently down, anxious, or disconnected, therapy for postpartum depression can help clarify what’s going on and support your healing.
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Intrusive thoughts are unwanted, scary, or disturbing thoughts and are very common during the postpartum period. Having these thoughts doesn’t mean something is wrong with you or that you’ll act on them. In perinatal anxiety therapy, we gently explore these experiences and help you feel safer in your own mind, using evidence-based tools that reduce shame and increase self-trust.
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Yes. Identity loss after having a baby is something many new parents experience. Therapy offers a supportive space to honor what’s changed, grieve what’s been lost, and reconnect with the parts of you that still matter. Together, we can explore how your identity is evolving and help you feel more grounded in this new chapter.
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Absolutely. Perinatal mental health therapy is for all parents, not just birthing mothers. Dads and non-birthing partners can also experience depression, anxiety, resentment, and overwhelm after a baby arrives. Therapy is a place where they, too, can feel heard and supported.
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It’s never too early (or too late) to seek support. Whether you’re pregnant, newly postpartum, or parenting a toddler, therapy can help you process what you’re experiencing and prevent emotional challenges from getting worse.
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Yes! I offer online therapy for perinatal mental health to clients living in California, Illinois, and Missouri. Virtual sessions are a flexible, convenient way to get support without needing to leave your home.
Still have questions or want to connect? Visit the Contact page to reach out.
You don’t have to navigate this alone. Support is here.
Whether you’re in the thick of postpartum, pregnant and feeling anxious, or simply overwhelmed by the mental load of early parenthood, therapy can help. Therapy can be a powerful place to reconnect with yourself, feel less alone, and find steady ground in this new season of life.
I offer virtual perinatal therapy for parents in California, Illinois, and Missouri, creating a warm, nonjudgmental space for you to feel supported and understood.