Specialist postnatal depression therapy and therapy for postnatal anxiety
Postnatal depression therapy can help you to make sense of your feelings and feel connected again.
You deserve help to feel happier in early motherhood
The transition to motherhood is seismic. Even if having children has been a lifelong desire, once a baby arrives it feels overwhelming.
The reality of motherhood is often vastly different from how it’s imagined. Trapped by a baby’s relentlessness, it might feel impossible to feel you’re doing a good enough job.
And then there’s the loss of who you were ‘before’, the feeling that parts of you have been erased.
You might be reeling from previous baby loss, a difficult birth, or relationship difficulties. It’s also unavoidable that becoming a mother stirs up issues from your own experience of being mothered.
I know you want to feel happier and be the best mother you can be, and I understand the challenges; it’s hard to understand why you feel depressed or anxious; this was not how motherhood was supposed to feel.
Make sense of
your feelings
A safe space to help you make sense of your emotions.
A happier version of yourself
Compassionately delivered psychological therapy for postnatal depression and anxiety.
Feel connected again
Move forward towards the life you want, feeling worthy and connected to the things which matter.
Helping you find yourself again
Over the years, I have helped many people overcome similar problems of postnatal depression and anxiety.
It is essential to have a safe, non-judgmental therapy space to begin to understand your feelings. A place to say the unsayable things you couldn’t tell other people without fear of judgement. All the messy, complicated feelings motherhood brings but aren’t easily shared.
I draw on therapy approaches, such as compassion-focused therapy, which are proven to be effective in helping people feel less anxious or depressed during the perinatal period.
Motherhood can be a time which is particularly rich with opportunities for self-development and growth.
I want to help you be a happier, calmer version of yourself, confident that you are doing a good job in this intense time of motherhood. You might also want to reclaim some of who you were ‘before’—the previous versions of yourself—and reconnect to the things you used to love.
“Miriam has helped me to understand the causes of my anxiety and given me tools to help overcome it. I feel that I am coming out of therapy as a better mother for my children, and also a more confident person who can not cope but also thrive. I would highly recommend Miriam to anyone who needs a safe space to work through their problems in a completely non-judgemental environment.”
“Miriam is an approachable, kind and lovely person. I was at ease throughout our sessions and was able to gain so much from them.”
“Miriam helped me to make sense of my world, process my difficulties and realign with my values. Her warmth and down to earth humour is immediate, and has always made it so easy to connect with her.”
How it works
Step one
Contact me and let’s talk
Contact me using the button below and we can book a free introduction call so you can be confident I’m a good fit for you.
Step Two
Together, we’ll create a plan
With the security of feeling comfortable with me, we meet and begin by gently creating a shared understanding of your needs and crafting an individualised treatment plan.
Step Three
Start moving forward again
We work together, at a pace that’s right for you, using specialist psychological therapy to help you achieve your therapy goals and move into the life you’ve been picturing.
The information on this website is for educational purposes only and does not constitute clinical advice. If you are concerned about your mental health please contact your GP or another professional.
FAQs
Below are some answers to typical questions you might have.
Many women feel low in mood, tearful or anxious in the first few days after having a baby. This is known as the ‘Baby Blues’ and is very common. Symptoms can include feeling sad and emotional, bursting into tears often without explanation. The baby blues last a few days and fade when the initial hormonal changes have settled down, usually a few days or a couple of weeks after birth.
Postnatal depression usually starts within the first three months after having a baby but can begin in the first year. Postnatal depression affects approximately one in ten women after they have a baby. You might notice feeling very sad and miserable, crying a lot. You might not look forward to things you used to enjoy, and caring for the baby feels like too much. Or blame yourself when things go wrong. You might also find it hard to concentrate or make decisions and notice a change in your appetite or ability to sleep.
It doesn’t only affect mothers. Fathers and partners also experience postnatal depression at the same rate.
If you are worried about keeping yourself or your baby safe then please do speak to your GP or another professional.
Postnatal anxiety is often unjustified worry about your baby, fearing that harm might come to them. Or generalised worry about many different things, such as your health and well-being or the wellbeing of others. You might notice feeling panicky or agitated in your body and have been trying to avoid situations where this feels worse.
Postnatal anxiety and depression often go together, and you might feel both apply to you.
There are lots of things that make people more at risk for feeling depressed in early motherhood. This may include difficulties adjusting to this seismic event of having a baby and having limited support. A previous episode of depression increases your chances of reoccurrence. As does recent stressful events, which might include a traumatic journey to early parenthood itself, such as birth trauma or baby loss.
Most importantly, remember postnatal depression isn’t happening because you are failing or not trying hard enough. It’s no refection at all on you as a mother.
You are not alone; many people feel just as you are.
The first step in postnatal depression therapy is to find a therapist you feel you can trust so you can say the things that have been on your mind without fear of judgment. It’s a common fear to worry that a therapist will doubt your ability to care for your baby. Please be reassured that this is unlikely.
Psychological therapy should always start with an assessment and a formulation. This is when, together, we begin to understand you and what you’ve been struggling with before deciding what type of therapy approach is likely to be most helpful.
Experienced perinatal psychologists draw on more than one type of psychological therapy. ‘Third-wave CBT’ approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), work on changing your relationship to difficult thoughts and feelings. I also use Compassion Focussed Therapy (CFT), which is helpful in alleviating suffering where there are high levels of shame and self-criticism. Eye-movement desensitisation and Reprocessing therapy (EMDR) is effective when there’s evidence that past events contribute to your current difficulties.
Therapy should be flexible to meet your needs, with regular reviews to check what is working. How many sessions are needed varies considerably. I typically see people for between 12 and 36 sessions, but I have also seen people benefit from just a few sessions. Equally, I’m happy to see you until you feel ready to end therapy. We can discuss this when we meet for our first session.
In addition, you might benefit from speaking to your GP or Health visitor. There is much more awareness of perinatal mental health issues now, and they will have spoken to many mothers who feel just like you. They might suggest medication options or refer you to a specialist NHS perinatal mental health service.
Bonding difficulties are not uncommon in early motherhood but are typically one of the things mothers find most challenging to discuss. There can be a very real fear of judgement, admitting that you don’t feel for your baby the way you expected. And a tremendous sense of loss when the relationship doesn’t feel how you’d imagined.
You shouldn’t have to feel alone with these worries. The parent-infant relationship can take time, like any new relationship.
Bonding issues can arise for various reasons, including postnatal depression, birth trauma, previous baby loss, past trauma, or difficulties in our own earliest relationships. Therapy provides a safe and supportive environment to identify the underlying issues and help you develop skills to build a more sensitive, attuned relationship with your baby.