Maybe you're anxious in ways that feel disproportionate to what's actually happening. Maybe the sadness arrived and hasn't lifted the way you expected. Maybe you love your baby and still feel like you've lost yourself somewhere in the process. Maybe no one told you it could feel like this, and the gap between what you expected and what you're actually experiencing has become its own source of shame.
Perinatal and postpartum mental health concerns are common, real, and treatable — not a sign that you're failing at something everyone else finds natural.
Virtual perinatal and postpartum therapy is available across Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan.
This Work Can Help With
- Anxiety during pregnancy, including intrusive worries about your health or your baby's
- Postpartum depression, including sadness, numbness, or disconnection that doesn't match how you expected to feel
- Postpartum anxiety, including intrusive thoughts about your baby's safety
- Birth trauma and difficult or frightening birth experiences
- Identity shifts and grief for the life or body you had before
- Relationship strain during the transition to parenthood
- Difficulty bonding, and the shame that often comes with admitting that
- Pressure from cultural or family expectations about what this period is "supposed" to look like
The Gap Between Expectation and Experience
Pregnancy and early parenthood are often framed as uniformly joyful, which can make it especially isolating when your actual experience includes anxiety, grief, ambivalence, or exhaustion that doesn't fit that narrative. That gap is a common and legitimate reason to seek support — not evidence that something is wrong with you for feeling it.
The Gap Between Expectation and Experience
Many new parents experience frightening, unwanted intrusive thoughts about something happening to their baby — thoughts that feel disturbing precisely because they're the opposite of what the parent wants. These thoughts are a recognized part of perinatal anxiety and OCD presentations, not a sign of danger or of being an unfit parent, and they respond well to treatment.
Meet Your Perinatal & Postpartum Therapists
Charlie, RP |
Charlie works with clients navigating perinatal and postpartum anxiety, depression, and birth-related trauma, integrating somatic and trauma-informed approaches.
Registered Psychotherapist, CRPO
Virtual across Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan.
Jennifer Gibbons, MA, RP (Qualifying) | Perinatal & Postpartum • Existential Therapy
Jennifer works with clients navigating the emotional and identity shifts of pregnancy and new parenthood.
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), CRPO
Virtual across Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan.
Frequently Asked Questions About Perinatal & Postpartum Therapy
Whenever you're ready. Some clients start during pregnancy, others in the early postpartum weeks, and others months later once something feels persistently off.
No. Intrusive thoughts about a baby's safety are a recognized and treatable part of perinatal anxiety, not a sign that you're a danger to your child. This is something worth discussing directly with a therapist.
No. This covers the full range of perinatal and postpartum experiences, including anxiety, birth trauma, identity shifts, and relationship strain.
Depending on your goals, sessions can focus individually on you or incorporate your partner when the transition is affecting the relationship.
es. Charlie and Jennifer offer virtual sessions across Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. Jennifer offers virtual sessions across Ontario.
You're Allowed to Struggle With This
Whatever this period actually feels like for you — not what it's supposed to feel like — is a valid reason to seek support.
A Note on Immediate Support
This page is for general informational purposes and does not replace individualized clinical assessment. If you are having thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, or are in crisis, please contact 9-8-8 (Suicide Crisis Helpline, Canada) or go to your nearest emergency room immediately — these thoughts are treatable, and reaching out is the right response to them.
