Compassionate Support for Your Transition to Parenting
The transition to parenthood is one of the most profound changes a person can go through. You’re not alone if it has been more difficult than you expected. Whether you’re pregnant, postpartum, navigating birth trauma, or welcoming a new baby into your life, you deserve support from someone who deeply understands this territory. With a background in midwifery and specialized training in perinatal mental health, I bring a unique perspective to this work.
A Background in Midwifery
Before training as a social worker, I worked in midwifery. That background shapes everything about how I understand and work with perinatal clients.
Approaches That Fit
I draw on Internal Family Systems, Flash Technique, and Rewind. These approaches are particularly well suited to postpartum distress. They help you get curious about what’s happening rather than fighting it or pushing through.
In London and Across Ontario
In-person sessions at 305–111 Waterloo Street in London, Ontario, and virtual sessions available across Ontario. I can usually see new and expecting parents within 1 to 3 days.
You might be experiencing
- Persistent sadness, anxiety, or irritability after birth
- Difficulty bonding with your baby
- Intrusive or frightening thoughts
- Feeling overwhelmed, numb, or disconnected
- Birth trauma or a birth experience that didn’t go as planned
- Grief related to fertility, pregnancy loss, or unmet expectations
- Anxiety during pregnancy
- Feeling like you’re ‘not doing it right’ as a parent
- Rage or anger that feels out of proportion
- Relationship strain during the transition to parenthood
- A loss of identity: a sense that the self you knew before has shifted in ways you didn’t expect and weren’t ready for
How I Can Help
My approach is somatic and parts-based. We pay attention to what’s happening in your body then work with the different aspects of your experience with curiosity rather than judgment.
For birth trauma specifically, I use Flash Technique and Rewind — approaches that allow real processing without requiring you to go back through the experience in detail. Many people find significant relief in just a few sessions.
Matrescence: the transformation of becoming a mother
Becoming a mother changes your sense of self. Matrescence is the psychological and emotional transformation that happens when a person becomes a mother. It can feel disorienting even when everything is going well. You might love your baby completely and still feel a quiet loss or grief over the loss of who you were before.
This is normal. It doesn’t mean something is wrong with you. And it’s something therapy can help you move through rather than get stuck in.
Support is Available Now
If you’re in the thick of it right now, please reach out. A free 15-minute consultation is the easiest first step. There’s no commitment, no pressure.
Sliding Scale Options
I aim to make therapy accessible, especially for new parents. Don’t hesitate to ask about sliding scale options.
Virtual Sessions
Accessible online counseling serving all of Ontario for your convenience.
In-Person Care
Experience personalized, face-to-face support in London, Ontario, tailored to your journey.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. You don’t need a formal diagnosis to reach out. If the transition to parenthood feels harder than you expected — whether you’re pregnant, postpartum, or somewhere in between — that’s reason enough to get support.
Yes. The transition to parenthood affects everyone in the family. Partners can experience their own anxiety, depression, or adjustment difficulties, and those experiences deserve support too.
There’s no waiting period. Many people reach out in the early weeks postpartum when things feel most intense. If you’re in the thick of it right now, that’s exactly when support can help most. I can usually see new and expecting parents within 1 to 3 days.
A healthy outcome does not determine whether an experience was traumatic or distressing. Birth trauma or distress is about what you lived through emotionally, regardless of the outcome. Feeling scared, unheard, out of control, or unsupported can all contribute to distressing feelings after giving birth.
Just as adolescence is the process of becoming an adult, matrescence is the developmental transition of becoming a mother. It’s a physiological shift in how your body functions. And it can be an emotionally and physiologically stressful as adolescence. Therapy helps you understand what’s shifting, make sense of any grief or disorientation, and find yourself on the other side without having to pretend you’re fine.
IFS therapy for postpartum distress works by getting curious about the parts of you that are struggling. New parents may feel as though the different parts of themselves are experiencing the transition differently. They may have a part that feels intense joy, a part that feels anger, and a part that feels grief or identify loss. Rather than treating the negative feelings as problems to eliminate, we understand what is happening inside and why that feeling is present. That shift tends to create more lasting relief than coping strategies alone.
Yes. Virtual sessions are available to anyone in Ontario. In-person sessions are available in London, Ontario at 305–111 Waterloo Street.