Portland Counseling Services Related to Motherhood

I specialize in working with issues related to motherhood. This experience marks a significant transition that is filled with deep emotion and often not what we expected it to be. This process, however joyful, can present difficult challenges and having support in the midst of this experience is vital.

Pre-pregnancy

The decision to start a family is significant and the prospect alone can elicit strong, often conflicting emotions. I offer counseling focused on preparing specifically for this journey.

Pregnancy

Birth
We often have a sense of how we want our birth to be – although, there will always be mysterious elements involved in birth. Counseling offers a space to prepare emotionally, psychologically and spiritually for this event. At times, there is fear present around certain aspects of birth. Addressing these fears in counseling can be therapeutic.

Birth Processing
Birth is a powerful experience. Talking about and processing your birth is important.

Postpartum

Traumatic Birth
It is up to each woman to decide whether or not her birth was traumatic. It can be painful and invalidating when people say otherwise. How you feel about your birth is important. Painful or disempowering experiences related to birth can have lasting impacts on important relationships. A difficult birth can also have a significant impact on your postpartum experience. Counseling provides a space to process this experience and work towards healing.

Depression & Anxiety
Postpartum depression (PPD) affects approximately 20% of women. This means that PPD is more common that most people realize and almost all parents experience high amounts of stress caring for a new baby. Some examples of symptoms of postpartum distress include feeling overwhelmed, sad, hopeless, angry and anxious. It’s important to listen to your instincts and trust yourself if you feel like something is not right. This experience will not last forever and getting treatment does help.

Scary Thoughts
Almost 90% of new mothers experience some form of obsessive thoughts (Kleiman 2011). This is a striking number because it means almost all new parents experience them, but they are not something that people tend to talk about. Scary or intrusive thoughts often involve some form of harm coming to your baby or yourself. These thoughts are disturbing and difficult to talk about. Often, however, it’s not the content of the thoughts that is the main challenge, but the anxiety and guilt that they cause. Counseling offers a space where you can talk openly about disturbing thoughts and address the anxiety and distress they are producing. The goal is to help you find relief and feel better.

Miscarriage

Miscarriages can be devastating. Although they are common (approximately 20% of pregnancies end in miscarriage) they are not something that we as a culture tend to talk about very openly. Having a miscarriage can be physically and emotionally painful; counseling offers the space to work through the grief and other emotions created by this experience. It is also important to attend to the ways that a miscarriage can emotionally effect future pregnancies and birth.