Mothers often experience emotional changes after giving birth. These can include "baby blues" as well as postpartum depression, anxiety, and obsessive compulsive symptoms which can made early parenthood extra hard. Up to 20% of women experience depression in postpartum and even more experience bothersome, intense symptoms of stress and anxiety. For many intrusive thoughts, or urges check, clean, mentally review are new and scary symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). If you are feeling any of these ways in postpartum, you are not alone and there 's help.
At Bloom Psychology, I provide specialized, evidence-based treatment for mothers and families struggling in the postpartum period.
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Common therapy topics in therapy for postpartum mental health concerns:
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Numbness, sadness, overwhelm in postpartum
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Stress, worry, anxiety overwhelm
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Addressing intrusive thoughts and urges to fix "what ifs" that feel overwhelming
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Improving sleep when getting enough is hard
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Improving caregiving support system
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Helping new parents attend to their own needs
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Providing specific and tailored information and techniques specific to baby-care and early development
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Helping to create, retain, and nurture connection with parenting partner(s)
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Prenatal Therapy & Preparation for Postpartum
Pregnancy can be a challenging experience, both physically and emotionally. You might be experiencing intense emotions, worrying about the health and safety of your growing baby, or encountering new life stressors. If you have a history of depression, anxiety or trauma, sometimes these issues re-surface in pregnancy. Having a safe, supportive place to process these feelings and to prepare for the fundamental change that is parenthood is excellent preventative care.
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Common therapy topics in prenatal therapy:
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Emotional changes
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Anxiety in pregnancy
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Processing trauma, including history of prior pregnancy losses or traumatic birth and postpartum
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Prenatal obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
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Physical changes
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Preparation for birth
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Preparation for baby care
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Prevention of postpartum depression and anxiety
Therapy for Postpartum Challenges, and Beyond
We are parenting during a unique time. There are more families with both parents in the workplace, more families who don't have enough family support making postpartum, parenting and childcare more overwhelming than it has ever been before. As and experienced perinatal psychologist, I help mothers, parents and couples address overwhelm of parenthood.
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Common therapy topics in postpartum and beyond:
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Adjustment to parenthood
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Birth trauma
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Sexual health and intimacy after having a baby
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Managing caregivers, communication, assertiveness, boundaries
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Return to work, work-family adjustment and management
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Early parenting challenges and nurturing early attachment
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Deepening connection between parents via Emotionally Focused Couples Counseling (EFCT)