If you feel like you’ve been struggling with motherhood, no matter where you are in the journey, you’ve come to the right place. We start the therapy process by talking about whatever you think the problem is; if you aren’t sure, we work to define that together. From there, we will talk about what you want to be different. Each session will typically start with “where you are at” that day-this means we start with whatever therapeutic issues feel pressing to you. We will talk through your feelings, and also dedicate some time to learning new tools or strategies that you can use immediately to help you between sessions. We typically meet weekly and then space out appointments as you feel better. We will review your progress at regular intervals, and the hope is that we see you “graduate” from therapy at some point-this can vary from person-to-person and may be a few months or sometimes longer.
I provide a space for you to feel safe to express any and all of your feelings about motherhood. Not much can surprise me! I’m a mom myself, and decided to focus my therapy practice on perinatal/maternal mental health after experiencing my own challenges along the way to motherhood. This informs my work in a really helpful way, and I find such delight in seeing other moms finally realize they are GOOD MOMS and can handle the wild ride of motherhood with confidence. I work with any people who identify as “mothers”, and I practice cultural humility (learn more here).
I utilize a variety of therapeutic approaches, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) strategies, Psychodynamic Theory and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). CBT involves identifying thoughts you are having that are problematic (“I’m a bad mom”) and contribute to depressed or anxious feelings. We then work to change our thinking patterns, and create new thought, such as “I can make mistakes and still be a good mom”. Psychodynamic Theory emphasizes how our childhood experiences impact us in adulthood or influence current patterns of behavior. It can be helpful to explore your own childhood experience and the parenting you received to understand how you are adjusting to parenthood or dealing with the challenges of parenting. ACT can be helpful with problematic thoughts by changing how we view our thoughts or patterns of thinking; instead of fretting over a worry thought, we reinforce thoughts are not dangerous themselves nor do they have power over us. A variety of strategies, such as mindfulness, can then help us change our relationship with the troubling thoughts. If you’re curious to hear me speaking about the therapy process and what it is like working with me, take a listen here to a podcast interview where I talk about this and other motherhood topics.
Education:
University of Minnesota
Master of Social Work 2005
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Bachelor of Social Work 2001
Trainings and Certification:
PSI’s Perinatal and Mood Anxiety Disorders Training 2018
PSI’s Advanced Perinatal Psychotherapy Training 2019
Perinatal Mental Health Certification (PMH-C) 2022
PSI’s Perinatal Loss: Clinical and Supportive Care Training 2022