I have experience and interest in supporting individuals and couples with the following topics:

 

• Conception journeys (including donor conception and using assisted reproductive technology such as IVF)

• Infertility 

• Childlessness

• Exploration around being intentionally childfree 

• Pregnancy and infant loss and grief 

• Abortion and termination for medical reasons

• Pregnancy, including ante partum anxiety and depression

• Postpartum and 4th trimester, including postpartum mood disorders

• Birth trauma and PTSD 

• Parenting small children 

 

I have received training through Postpartum Support International and am pursuing certification as perinatal mental health. I regularly participate in continuing education and consultation around the above topics. I am also EFT trained for couples counseling, and pursing Gottman Level I and II completion. 

 

I believe that mainstream media and societal conditioning contribute to false narratives around the experience of having children or trying to bring children into one’s life. The lived, real, raw experience of pregnancy and postpartum can feel quite different than expectations or ideas we may have prior to becoming a parent. And so often, any challenge or difficult emotions can feel isolating, shameful, and not okay to talk about. It is okay to talk about what you are struggling with in pregnancy or as a parent, and I would be honored to support you right where you are.

 

Infertility and difficulty conceiving, when that is the goal, can also feel incredibly stigmatizing and alienating, as if there is something ‘wrong’ with you when a pregnancy is not happening without medical assistance. There is nothing wrong, broken, or in need of fixing when it comes to infertility. You have not done anything to cause the problem, nor are you less of a person. Nor have you done anything wrong or are to blame if you have experienced a pregnancy or infant loss, and you deserve to have a place to grieve and discuss your loss without unsolicited advice or silver linings talk. I can provide a non-judgmental space to talk and also receive coping support and strategies for getting through what may be the hardest thing you have ever experienced in your life.

 

I also feel passionate about supporting people who either choose not to have children, or for circumstances outside of their control and planning are childless. Again, societal expectation and value placed on women in particular tells us that a person cannot be happy or complete if they are not a parent. This is false, and even if children were part of your life plan, I believe you can live a meaningful and full life alongside the reality of being childless and would feel honored to support you in your process, wherever you may be.