PERINATAL & POSTPARTUM MENTAL HEALTH
You can love your baby and still find this hard.
Compassionate therapy through pregnancy, postpartum, and the transition to parenthood.
Maybe you're feeling more anxious than you expected. Maybe sadness has settled in. Maybe you love your baby deeply but miss the person you were before.
At Théla, we offer a supportive space to explore the emotions, changes, and challenges of pregnancy and new parenthood—without expectations about how you should feel.
BOOK A CONSULTATION →Virtual therapy available across ON, BC, AB & SK, subject to clinician eligibility
There is room for love, grief, joy, exhaustion, and uncertainty—all at once.
You don't have to make sense of every feeling before asking for support.
THE EXPERIENCE OF BECOMING A PARENT
Pregnancy and new parenthood aren't always what we imagined.
Pregnancy and early parenthood are often portrayed as joyful, instinctive, and deeply fulfilling. For many people, the reality is more complicated.
There may be moments of connection alongside fear, grief, resentment, loneliness, or exhaustion. You might feel grateful for your baby while also mourning the life you knew before.
These experiences deserve understanding rather than judgment. Perinatal mental health concerns are common and treatable, and support is available.
HOW WE CAN HELP
Support for what you're experiencing.
Perinatal therapy can address a wide range of emotional, psychological, and relational concerns before and after birth.
01.
Pregnancy Anxiety
Persistent worries about pregnancy, health, birth, uncertainty, or your baby's wellbeing.
02.
Postpartum Depression
Sadness, emptiness, loss of interest, hopelessness, emotional numbness, or feeling disconnected from yourself.
03.
Postpartum Anxiety & OCD
Intrusive thoughts, repetitive checking, constant vigilance, and difficulty feeling reassured about your baby's safety.
04.
Birth Trauma
Distress following frightening, unexpected, painful, or disempowering birth and medical experiences.
05.
Identity & Life Changes
Adjusting to changes in independence, career, relationships, body image, identity, and personal priorities.
06.
Relationship Challenges
Changes in intimacy, communication, emotional connection, shared responsibilities, and expectations of your partner.
07.
Bonding & Connection
Difficulty feeling emotionally connected to your baby, including the guilt or shame that may accompany it.
08.
Family & Cultural Expectations
Navigating pressure, unsolicited advice, intergenerational differences, boundaries, and cultural expectations.
09.
Loss & Fertility Challenges
Emotional support around fertility difficulties, pregnancy loss, reproductive decisions, and grief.
THE UNEXPECTED EMOTIONS
The gap between expectation and experience.
You may have imagined feeling connected, confident, and fulfilled.
Instead, you might feel anxious, overstimulated, disconnected, or unsure of who you are becoming.
Therapy can help you explore this gap, understand the meaning of your emotions, and develop a more compassionate relationship with yourself.
"I wanted this. Why am I having such a hard time?"
Wanting to become a parent and finding parenthood difficult are not contradictions.
WHEN THOUGHTS FEEL FRIGHTENING
Having an unwanted thought doesn't mean you want it to happen.
Some new parents experience intrusive thoughts or mental images involving harm coming to their baby. These thoughts may be unwanted, upsetting, and inconsistent with the parent's values or intentions.
Such experiences can occur in perinatal anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). An intrusive thought alone does not establish an intention to act.
Because different conditions can sometimes involve similar-sounding experiences, a careful clinical assessment is important. You deserve a space where these thoughts can be discussed openly and taken seriously.
Important: If you feel you might act on thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, or experience hallucinations, delusions, marked confusion, or a loss of contact with reality, seek urgent medical assessment.
OUR APPROACH
Therapy that makes room for your whole experience.
Your treatment is individualized according to your goals, needs, and circumstances.
01.
Understanding Your Experience
Explore emotions, expectations, relationship dynamics, and the pressures shaping your experience.
02.
Managing Anxiety & Emotions
Develop coping strategies for worry, emotional overwhelm, stress, and self-criticism.
03.
Processing Difficult Experiences
When appropriate, address distress related to pregnancy, childbirth, medical experiences, or earlier trauma.
04.
Reconnecting With Yourself
Explore identity, personal needs, boundaries, values, and your evolving sense of self.
05.
Strengthening Relationships
Work on communication, shared expectations, support, and relationship transitions.
06.
Building Self-Compassion
Challenge unrealistic expectations and create more room for rest, support, and imperfection.
RELATIONSHIPS & SUPPORT
Parenthood changes relationships, too.
Sleep deprivation, shifting responsibilities, changing intimacy, and different parenting expectations can place pressure on even strong relationships.
Therapy can help you better understand these changes, communicate your needs, and consider how to strengthen your support system.
We can explore:
Emotional and practical support needs
Changes in intimacy and connection
Mental load and division of responsibilities
Boundaries with extended family
Communication and conflict repair
OUR THERAPISTS
Meet your perinatal & postpartum therapists.
Connect with a clinician who can help you navigate the emotional complexities of pregnancy and parenthood.
REGISTERED PSYCHOTHERAPIST
Charlie
Registered Psychotherapist (CRPO)
Charlie supports clients experiencing perinatal and postpartum anxiety, depression, and birth-related trauma, integrating somatic and trauma-informed approaches.
BOOK WITH CHARLIE →REGISTERED PSYCHOTHERAPIST (QUALIFYING)
Jennifer Gibbons
MA, RP (Qualifying), CRPO
Jennifer supports clients navigating pregnancy, new parenthood, and the emotional and identity transitions that can accompany these experiences, including through an existential lens.
BOOK WITH JENNIFER →Virtual availability and professional jurisdiction vary by clinician. Please confirm current booking options before scheduling.
WHEN TO SEEK SUPPORT
You don't have to wait until things become unbearable.
Some people begin therapy while planning a pregnancy or during pregnancy. Others reach out shortly after birth, several months later, or well into their parenting journey.
You do not need a diagnosis or a particular level of distress to begin a conversation about your mental health.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Questions about perinatal therapy?
How soon after giving birth can I begin therapy?
You can seek support whenever you're ready. Some clients begin during pregnancy, others in the early postpartum weeks, and others months or years later.
Is therapy only for postpartum depression?
No. Therapy can support pregnancy anxiety, postpartum OCD, birth trauma, identity changes, relationship concerns, grief, and other emotional experiences.
What if I'm having frightening thoughts about my baby?
Unwanted intrusive thoughts can occur with perinatal anxiety and OCD. They are not automatically evidence of intent to act. A clinician can assess the nature of the thoughts and help identify appropriate treatment and support.
Can my partner participate?
Depending on your goals and the clinical arrangement, partner involvement may be discussed. Couples therapy may also be considered when relationship concerns require dedicated attention.
Can I attend virtually?
Yes. Virtual perinatal and postpartum therapy is available, subject to clinician licensing, location, and clinical suitability.
What if I'm not sure whether what I'm feeling is normal?
You do not have to make that determination alone. Therapy can help you understand your experience and explore whether additional assessment or support would be beneficial.
Can therapy help after a traumatic birth?
Yes. Trauma-informed psychotherapy may help you process distressing birth experiences, address associated symptoms, and rebuild a sense of safety. Treatment is tailored to your needs.
A NOTE ON IMMEDIATE SUPPORT
When more immediate care is needed.
Perinatal mental health symptoms can sometimes require urgent medical attention. If you experience hallucinations, delusions, severe confusion, or thoughts of harming yourself or your baby that you may act on, seek immediate assessment through an emergency department or call 911.
For suicide-related crisis support in Canada, call or text 9-8-8. This website and our routine appointment services are not monitored for emergencies.
BEGIN WITH A CONVERSATION
You deserve support, too.
Whatever this season of life looks like for you, there's room to talk about what you're experiencing and what you might need.
BOOK A CONSULTATION CONTACT OUR TEAMQuestions? hello@thelaclinic.com
