Postpartum Depression Counseling
Is It Baby Blues Or Do I Need a
Postpartum Depression Therapist?
This can be a tricky question and a good perinatal therapist can help you answer this question in your initial meetings. Both Baby Blues and Postpartum Depression are characterized by mood swings, irritability or tearfulness. Hormonal changes and sleep deprivation do play a role in both. However, during postpartum depression you feel hopeless, worthless, excessively guilty and unmotivated. This makes it difficult to take care of yourself.
The weeks and months after giving birth are indeed challenging, but in postpartum depression you may feel like you are white knuckling it just to get through the day with no hope in sight. If this is how you have been feeling, you could benefit from sessions with a perinatal therapist.
Working with a Perinatal Therapist to Heal from Postpartum Depression
As a perinatal therapist, my clients often tell me that they confided their sadness and despair in someone and were told “it’s just baby blues, it will pass!” If this has happened to you, you may have felt invalidated or hurt that they did not understand the depth of your sadness.
While 80% of women will experience baby blues, 15% of women will experience postpartum depression. To know if working with a postpartum depression therapist is right for you, it is important to understand the difference between baby blues and postpartum depression.
What to Expect from a Perinatal Therapist?
I have been a therapist for moms for many years. Often when women come in to see me, they worry that they are going crazy. They feel very guilty for not being over the moon with joy during this time and can’t make sense of what is happening to them. But if you zoom out, as a new mom you are going through a great deal! T
he changes within you are biological, psychological and social… and they all seemed to have happened at once! This doesn’t mean you don’t love your baby, it means you have to re-learn how to take care of this new version of yourself. This is where counseling for postpartum depression can help.
There are countless therapists out there who have experience treating depression and help people get back to who they were. What makes a perinatal therapist different is that you can never go back to who you were, having a baby has literally changed every facet of your life! So much change all at once may sound scary, but when you work with a postpartum depression therapist who understands all the unique challenges of being a mom, you have a guide through this process.
You do not need a therapist to navigate you back to who you were, you need one to help you navigate to who you will be. Not just to being an amazing mom, but to being an amazing and empowered woman. One who is ready to grow and adapt to the ever changing demands of her life.
How To Start Working With A Perinatal
Therapist?
You deserve all the care and nurturing you would give your baby. You really do. Take that in for a second. If you’re like most of my clients, you may not have had a mother figure model this for you.
There may be no template for how to take care of yourself, only one for caring for others. This is where a Perinatal Therapist can be a guide. It’s not all about being a great parent, but also a healthy person, a well rounded, empowered person who understands what they need and knows how to get it.
If you have been experiencing postpartum depression, you are not alone and there are people who can help. Schedule a free 15 minute phone consultation today to learn more about what working with a postpartum depression therapist and counseling for postpartum depression can do for you.