Parental Mental Health
Pregnancy and Postpartum Mental Health concerns are commonly minimized and over looked world wide. Specialized training in Perinatal (time of conception through the first year after giving birth) Mental Health allows me to help bridge this gap and assist families in increasing awareness, prevention, and treatment of anxiety and depressive concerns commonly experienced in new and expecting parents.
Pregnancy
Anxiety and mood disorders can affect people at any time during their lives. However, many are not aware that there is increased risk during the perinatal period.
Pregnancy can be a time of excitement and anticipation but can also be riddled with stress and anxiety. Due to hormone changes in the body, it is also common to experience depressive symptoms, even if you have never struggled with depression before. Becoming pregnant again after a previous loss can bring up a additional feelings of fear, anxiety and grief.
If you are expecting; you have likely found resources to help prepare your registry, learned what to expect during delivery and basic infant care but have you prepared to manage the mental load that can come with pregnancy and motherhood?
If you are interested in exploring how counseling can help, please reach out to schedule an intake session today!
Postpartum
-
Adjusting to motherhood is one of the most complicated transitions you will make in your life. From balancing new responsibilities of caring for your baby, pressure to do everything right, sleepless nights, to uncovering your new identity as a mom.
To complicate things even more, Perinatal Depression affects as many as 1 in 7 women. The risks of untreated Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs) are very real and can cause long term relationship problems, child neglect/abuse, and even loss of life.
-
1 in 10 new fathers have been found to also suffer from depression. Paternal depression is more likely experienced in families where the birthing parent is experiencing PMADs. Mental health symptoms in new father’s are often missed due to social expectations for the non-birthing partner “to be strong” during this time. Paternal Depression commonly presents between 3-6 months postpartum. Commonly “masked” symptoms include irritability, aggression, hostility, increased self isolation, checking out emotionally and substance use.
-
Single parents face additional challenges with managing the adjustment to parenthood. Building up a healthy support system and community can help decrease the risks of PMADs. Telehealth services makes help that much more accessible to single parents so you no longer have to choose between your needs and your child’s.
“Taking care of yourself is the most powerful way to begin to take care of others.”
