Anxiety, Depression & Overwhelm

Perinatal Mental Health: Finding Support for Anxiety, Depression and Overwhelm

The journey into parenthood can be joyful — but it can also be incredibly tough. Many parents and parents-to-be experience anxiety, depression, low mood or emotional overwhelm during pregnancy or after birth. These feelings are more common than you might think, but they often go unspoken. Societal narratives play into this, and our expectations about what parenthood ‘should’ look and feel like very much contradict with the reality. As a Clinical Psychologist, I work with individuals navigating these tricky and often contradicting feelings using a range of evidence-based therapeutic approaches.

Perinatal mental health difficulties can show up in many ways. You might feel on edge all the time, find it hard to sleep even when the baby is resting, or feel detached from your own experience. Some people describe a constant sense of guilt or failure, while others simply feel numb. Intrusive thoughts of harm coming to your baby, yourself or your loved ones are very common in the perinatal period. These can be particularly frightening and distressing, leaving you questioning how you could think such things and what this says about you as a parent. For some, the experience of becoming a parent can bring to mind painful wounds from your own childhood, which may include how you were parented. This in turn can impact how you think and feel about your own parenting journey. If you're noticing signs of perinatal anxiety, postnatal depression or emotional burnout, these are not personal failings and they are not your fault—they're signals that you may need some support.

In therapy, we explore your experience with compassion and without judgement. Using evidence-based approaches such as Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), EMDR and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), we work together to make sense of what you’re experiencing, reduce distressing symptoms, and reconnect you with your strengths and your values.

You don’t have to face this alone. If you’re struggling with your mental health during pregnancy or after birth, therapy can offer a safe space to pause, reflect and begin to feel better in yourself. Please feel free to reach out—I'm here to help you find your footing and move forward at your own pace.