I'm a bad mom.
Was that the right decision?
What if something bad happens?
I don't know how I'm going to get through this.
My baby deserves better.
What is wrong with me?
Am I doing this right?
Why is this so hard for me?
They would be better off if I wasn't here.
I'm failing.
Will I ever sleep again?
Maybe I wasn't meant to be a mom.
I have no idea what I'm doing.
This isn't what I expected.
I don't know who I am anymore.
The nonstop overwhelm, fear, and guilt about making sure you’re “doing it right” is drowning out the excitement and joy of this season in your life
You're miserable, to the point that sometimes you think you made a huge mistake or you fantasize about running away, but you're too ashamed to admit these feelings because you tried for so long to get pregnant and what kind of mom has those sort of thoughts??
You find yourself getting so upset when your baby won’t sleep or won't stop crying that you burst into tears. Sometimes you feel enraged, like you just want to scream, and you're terrified you might "snap" and actually hurt the baby.
Sound familiar?
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You have a really fussy, colicky, or difficult-to-soothe baby, and having to constantly hold them or spend hours nursing, rocking, or bouncing them every day and night has you so exhausted that you're worried you might actually be on the verge of a mental breakdown.
Sound familiar?
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The nonstop overwhelm, fear, and guilt about making sure you’re “doing it right” is drowning out the excitement and joy of this season in your life
You're miserable, to the point that sometimes you think you made a huge mistake or you fantasize about running away, but you're too ashamed to admit these feelings because you tried for so long to get pregnant and what kind of mom has those sort of thoughts??
You find yourself getting so upset when your baby won’t sleep or won't stop crying that you burst into tears. Sometimes you feel enraged, like you just want to scream, and you're terrified you might "snap" and actually hurt the baby.
You have a really fussy, colicky, or difficult-to-soothe baby, and having to constantly hold them or spend hours nursing, rocking, or bouncing them every day and night has you so exhausted that you're worried you might actually be on the verge of a mental breakdown.
I specialize in addressing the various ways trauma can impact a new mom’s mental health during the postpartum period.
I would be honored to walk alongside you in your healing journey so you can find a renewed sense of identity as a mom and offer the very best version of yourself to your little one.
You have a history of trauma that is now impacting your sense of self as a parent (such as abuse, neglect, and other traumas in childhood or adolescence)
Your trauma occurred as part of your journey to becoming a parent (such as fertility challenges, pregnancy or infant loss, and traumatic birth experiences)
You experienced something traumatic after your child was born that has shaken your confidence as a parent.... (such as NICU or PICU stays, serious illness or injury, or a global pandemic)
Whether...
You can feel better. Healing is possible.
With the right kind of help, you can feel more like yourself, gain confidence to take on the challenges of motherhood, and be able to truly enjoy parenting (most of the time).
What it's like to work with a therapist who is an expert in perinatal mental health and an expert in baby care:
How well your baby is eating and sleeping can have a huge impact on your mental health:
Before I started my graduate program to become a therapist, I worked for several years as an infant nanny, and then I supported myself through grad school and my residency working overnights as a Newborn Care Specialist. I fell in love with it so much that I still support new families in their homes overnight as a NCS and virtually as a trauma-informed infant sleep consultant alongside my therapy practice.
I am passionate about helping new parents and other postpartum professionals to understand just how much infant feeding and sleep impacts maternal mental health...and vice versa... and why it's so important for the wellness of moms and babies to be supporting new families in both of these areas.
Optimal Infant Development
Optimal Maternal Mental Health
- Maybe you're dealing with the stress of low milk supply, painful nursing, triple feedings, D-MER, mastitis, or issues with poor weight gain.
- Maybe you are grieving being unable to feed the way you planned.
- Maybe your baby has their days and nights mixed up or won't sleep without being held, and you have become so sleep deprived it feels like you're starting to lose your mind
Your mental health also impacts how well things are going with your baby's feedings and sleep, which then has a direct impact on their growth and development:
- Maybe you are dealing with postpartum depression and are struggling to stick to any kind of consistent routine for you and the baby or to find routines you actually enjoy
- Maybe you are experiencing intrusive thoughts, or obsessions and compulsions related to fears about SIDS, contaminated formula, or how much milk baby is getting
- Maybe you have postpartum PTSD, and your baby's crying is such a trigger that you haven't been able to follow through with your goals for teaching more independent sleep habits
I believe that taking care of you and your mental health is not selfish, and I am dedicated to changing the narrative that being a "good mom" requires sacrificing your sleep and your sanity.
Being a healthy, rested mom is one of the greatest gifts you can give your child.
How I Can Help
I specialize in treating trauma that occurs or resurfaces during the perinatal period, but I also work with women experiencing a variety of other challenges during the journey to and through motherhood.
Common experiences I work with include:
• Postpartum Anxiety or OCD
• Postpartum Depression
• Had a High Risk Pregnancy
• NICU/PICU Stays
• History of Infertility
• Prior Pregnancy/Infant Loss
• Birth Trauma
• Postpartum Insomnia
• Balancing Motherhood and Work
• Setting Boundaries with Family
• History of Childhood Abuse/Neglect
• History of Sexual Assault/Rape
• Infant Feeding/Sleep Challenges
• Body Image Negativity
• Identity Transformation
• Conflict with Partner
Are you ready to feel like a renewed momma?
If you’re ready, then I am confident that together we can heal the root of your current struggles. Using IFS-Informed EMDR, I will help you to rewire the parts of your brain that are stuck - “overwriting” any negative emotional learnings and “reconsolidating” trauma memories - allowing you to experience transformational and lasting change.
reach out today to start truly enjoying motherhood
What if you could release your fears and go through each day feeling confident in who you are as a mom?
Schedule your free 15 minute consultation
For less than the cost of two sessions*, you’ll get access to the most important postpartum insights I offer my therapy clients - including 15 key conversations about emotional self-care and specific instruction in 14 different coping tools!
This course includes lessons on:
- Improving Your Inner Dialogue
- Letting Go of “Mom Guilt”
- Prioritizing Your Needs
- Asking for Help
- Distraction Tools
- Emotion Regulation Tools
- Relaxation/Self-Soothing Tools
Still not sure about therapy?
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
I am interested in therapy services but also have concerns about my baby or child’s sleep - can you help me with that too?
Definitely! If we’re working together in therapy and your child’s sleep is impacting your mental health, then it absolutely makes sense for that to be something we work on! Not only would we explore and process your thoughts and feelings about your/your child’s lack of sleep or struggle to develop a good routine or schedule - just like you would with any other therapist - we’ll also draw on my expertise as a sleep consultant to collaborate on a specific plan to help your child sleep better for both nights and naps.
If you’ve read about my sleep consulting services, you wouldn’t need to purchase one of my programs. We would simply discuss your concerns about your child’s sleep and your goals for sleep training, and then create a plan together for sleep training and how to support your mental health throughout that process - all during our therapy sessions. If needed, and if my schedule allows, we can also schedule multiple sessions in a week for a few weeks in order to help you make progress more quickly. I would still provide you with any guides/PDFs I’ve created that are relevant to your situation, and you would be able to email or text me between sessions with quick questions like all my therapy clients.
The other key differences between working on sleep issues in therapy rather than as part of a sleep consulting program is that you would not have access to voice/message support via Voxer (it is not a HIPAA-compliant method of communication) or to the Facebook group for follow-up support (this form of social media engagement violates my code of ethics as a therapist).
No, I am not a medical doctor. However, I am able to help get you connected to a prescriber, help you prepare for your initial and subsequent appointments in terms of important information to share and what questions to ask, and I can offer guidance on what to expect with various types of medications.
Contact
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