Postpartum Anxiety & Depression Therapy
Support when motherhood doesn't feel the way you expected, including sadness, anxiety, irritability, overwhelm, guilt, numbness, or feeling unlike yourself.
You may have pictured those early months differently. Maybe you expected exhaustion, but not the constant worry. Maybe you thought you'd feel a rush of joy, and instead you feel flat, on edge, or quietly underwater. Maybe everyone keeps telling you how lucky you are, and you nod along while wondering what's wrong with you.
Nothing is wrong with you. Postpartum depression and anxiety are among the most common complications of having a baby. About 1 in 7 new mothers experience depression during pregnancy or after birth, and anxiety is just as common. They're treatable, and you don't have to wait until it gets worse to ask for help.
You can love your baby deeply and still be struggling.
When it's more than the baby blues
In the first couple of weeks after birth, it's very common to feel teary, moody, and more emotional than usual as your body and your life adjust. These "baby blues" usually ease on their own. If those feelings stick around, get heavier, or start making everyday life feel hard, it may be something more, and it's worth reaching out. You might notice:
- Racing worries you can't switch off, or a constant sense that something bad is about to happen
- Sadness, emptiness, or feeling numb or disconnected from your baby
- Irritability or rage that feels out of character
- Guilt, shame, or thinking you're failing as a mother
- Trouble sleeping even when the baby sleeps
- Physical tension, a racing heart, or panic
- Losing interest in things that used to matter to you
- Unwanted, frightening thoughts about something happening to your baby
Postpartum anxiety and depression can start any time in the first year, and sometimes during pregnancy. They can affect anyone who has had a baby, including adoptive and non-birthing parents.
How therapy helps
Therapy gives you a place to say the things you haven't said out loud, without judgment and without having to hold it together. Together, we work to:
- Understand what you're experiencing and why, so it feels less frightening
- Quiet the anxiety and loosen the grip of guilt and "shoulds"
- Rebuild rest, support, and small moments that feel like you again
- Strengthen your connection with your baby at a pace that feels right
- Plan for the harder days, so you know what to do when they come
Many parents notice meaningful relief within weeks. You don't need to have the words figured out before your first session. Showing up is enough.
How we work together
Our work is often informed by Internal Family Systems (IFS), helping you understand the different parts of you: the part that's terrified of getting it wrong, the part that's running on empty, the part that just wants a break.
When to get help right away
If you're having thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, feel confused or out of touch with reality, or aren't sleeping at all for days, please seek help now. Call or text 988, call the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-943-5746 (24/7), or go to your nearest emergency room.
You may also find helpful
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Scary or Intrusive Thoughts
Help for unwanted thoughts, checking, reassurance-seeking, fears about your baby's safety, and postpartum OCD, without judgment.
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Birth Trauma & Difficult Birth Experiences
A space to process frightening, unexpected, or traumatic pregnancy, birth, NICU, or postpartum experiences.
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Relationships After Baby
Individual support for changes in intimacy, communication, resentment, division of labor, parenting differences, and feeling more like roommates than partners.