Pregnancy Counseling
Pregnancy is a time of great anticipation, but it’s not always exciting or easy. If you want to explore your changing identity, prepare emotionally and psychologically for birth, address feelings of fear, anxiety, or depression, or attend to issues from the past that have suddenly resurfaced, prenatal counseling can offer you guidance and support.
Your Shifting Identity
As your body stretches to accommodate your growing baby, so too does your identity begin to expand in order to embody this new phase of your life. You may find that you’re reflecting on yourself and others in new ways, that your perspective and priorities are changing, and that you’re wondering what kind of birth you’ll have and what kind of parent you’ll be. It’s normal for this reorganization of identity to create some uncertainty and anxiety, but counseling can help you use your awareness to take stock of your current identity and start building your parenthood identity in meaningful and intentional ways that can be empowering.
Addressing Anxiety
As exciting as pregnancy can be, it’s also a time when women are vulnerable to the onset of worries, fear, and anxiety. It’s normal for anxiety to surface in the face of the unknown and in anticipation of a big life change, but if your worries are getting the better of you, counseling can help you to explore your concerns, discover what your worries are rooted in, understand how anxiety affects your brain and body, learn how to better tolerate uncertainty, and discover some coping strategies for effective management.
Preparing For Labor
The experience of labor and birth is a transformative journey and many pregnant people find it helpful to prepare emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually for this momentous event. Maybe you’re looking for some in-depth information on your various birth-related options or want to explore your hopes, goals, and intentions. Maybe you want to address some fears and concerns that have surfaced or you’re hoping to deepen this journey into a spiritual path that marks the transition from one season of your life to the next. Each person will have their own unique way of preparing for labor and birth, and I’m here to help you discover yours.
Prenatal Depression
If you’re experiencing feelings of depression during pregnancy, you’re not alone. Around 20% of pregnant people are also struggling with symptoms of depression but they are unlikely to get help due to the pressure people are under to be happy and excited about expecting a child. You need not carry this alone. Counseling offers you a safe and confidential place where you can bring all of your thoughts and feelings to the table, receive support and understanding, and discover ways of helping you to feel better.
Body Image
Body image can be a powerful presence in the lives of many and the physical changes that accompany pregnancy can stir up unwanted inner criticisms and conflicting feelings. For some, pregnancy may be the first time in their adult life when their body’s shape and size is not under their control which can be frustrating and scary. Counseling can help you work through anxieties about your changing body, confront tendencies toward perfectionism, promote acceptance of things beyond your control, and support you to find inner strengths and resources that are stable even when outer circumstances and appearances are ever-changing.
Miscarriage & Loss
Miscarriage, infertility, and other pregnancy related losses are some of the most overlooked grief experiences that exist. Unfortunately, our culture does not adequately recognize these difficult losses, leaving people feeling isolated in their grief. If you’ve lost or have been unable to conceive a baby and need a place to process your grief, counseling creates a safe container where you can be heard, seen, and understood. It also provides opportunities for reflecting on how to live into your future
Birth Counseling
Birth is a powerful experience that deserves recognition and processing, some birth stories also require healing. If you’re looking for a safe place to explore the events and experiences surrounding the labor and birth of your child or if you’re pregnant again and think you might benefit from processing your previous birth experience, I’m here to listen and help.
Birth Story Processing
The story of your birth experience is an important narrative that deserves attention and can influence self-perception. Stories hold power and they also hold potential. While the facts comprise the basic structure of your birth story, there is also a whole world of nuanced emotion, intuition, and inner experiences that can be explored as a way of identifying a richer and more complete narrative for you and your family. If you’re interested in discovering a more empowered narrative hiding in your birth story, let’s connect.
Traumatic Birth
Trauma is a subjective experience so if you feel traumatized by your birth, then you were. Trauma can be caused by big or small events that in some way overwhelm you and make you feel afraid, helpless, or out of control. If you’re feeling raw and disconnected, can’t stop thinking about particular parts of the birth, struggle with intrusive memories or nightmares, or avoid things that remind you of the birth, then you may benefit from counseling specifically designed to help you process and heal from a traumatic birth.
Birth Disappointments
Birth is unpredictable. It doesn’t always go as planned and sometimes your hopes get dashed upon the rocks. If you’re feeling disappointed in your birth experience, let down by your care providers or support person, or second-guessing difficult decisions made in the midst of a challenging labor, counseling can help. Together we can sort through what happened, process difficult memories and emotions, make space for you to grieve what’s been lost, and assess what strengths may have been gained so you can move forward.
Birthing After Cesarean
Sometimes a difficult cesarean birth experience is put on the back burner while attending to the demands of parenting and it’s not until you become pregnant again that it resurfaces and wants some attention. Counseling provides a space where you can process your previous birth experience, explore your birthing options (VBAC or repeat cesarean), examine your hopes and fears, and prepare mentally and emotionally to have a more empowered birth experience this time around now matter how your baby gets born.
Postpartum Counseling
The postpartum is an intimate and overwhelming time full of transitions, joys, and challenges of all kinds. If you’re struggling with breastfeeding, feel overwhelmed by the sudden changes in your life, or notice that sadness, anxiety, and uncertainty are getting the better of you, please reach out for support. Help is available and it does get better.
Tender Transitions
As you’re falling in love with your new baby, you’re also recovering from birth, coping with hormonal shifts and sleep deprivation, figuring out breastfeeding and newborn care, and feeling the full impact of how your life has changed. That’s a lot to adjust to and about 80% of women end up having some degree of “baby blues” which is characterized by feeling tearful, overwhelmed, fragile, disappointed, or anxious. Counseling provides you with nonjudgemental support to help see you through this tender time.
Anxiety & Depression
Even though people don’t often talk about it, nearly 1 in 4 women experience some form of anxiety and/or depression during the weeks and months after having a baby. If you’re suffering from feelings of depression or anxiety in the aftermath of your baby’s birth, please know that you’re not alone, it’s not your fault, and it will get better. Counseling and other forms of treatment really do help, so please reach out and get the support you need and deserve to start feeling like yourself again.
Breastfeeding Challenges
Breastfeeding can have a steep learning curve for both moms and babies, and it’s common for challenges to occur along the way. Since breastfeeding is one way new moms build confidence in their parenting abilities, complications or obstacles to nursing can cause a great deal of anxiety, grief, despair, and exhaustion. If you’re struggling with breastfeeding and want unbiased emotional support that doesn’t overwhelm you with opinions and advice, then I’m here to help.
Intrusive Thoughts
Intrusive thoughts are disturbing ideas or images that pop into your brain against your will and usually focus on some form of potential harm coming to you or your baby. Most people are deeply distressed when these unwanted thoughts occur but nearly 90% of new mothers experience them to some degree, which basically means they’re a normal part of the postpartum. If you’re struggling with intrusive thoughts or the fear, guilt, and shame that often results from experiencing them, counseling can help.