Therapy for Pregnancy & Postpartum Mood

Therapy for pregnancy and postpartum mental health in NYC

Our team of therapists with doctoral-level training bring a wealth of knowledge about perinatal mood and expertise in helping you or your partner navigate your pregnancy or postpartum journey. While you may be excited and thankful about having a baby, it’s also okay if you’re struggling too. Whatever your family planning journey has been, it’s common for expecting parents to feel anxious. And as many as 1 in 7 women and 1 in 10 men experience postpartum depression.

Whether you are the birthing parent or partner - you are deserving of dedicated support to process the unique feelings that come in this season. There may be many “nobody ever told me” moments along the way, but you can face them with caring, knowledgeable support. Being empowered with practical coping skills from a perinatal therapist gives you a solid foundation as you navigate parenthood. To learn more, book a free, 15-minute consultation with us today.

Real talk about pregnancy anxiety & postpartum depression

Getting pregnant can be one of the biggest life-changing and exciting adventures you choose. Yet strong social pressures and idealized myths are also tied to this time period, making it hard to be honest about its unique challenges. Especially when it comes to what it means to have a smooth family planning journey, doing all the “right” things during pregnancy, staying calm, or becoming a confident and capable parent.

This often leaves little room for real talk about the stress, loss of control, or honest feelings that come up with pregnancy. Managing profound uncertainty in the first trimester, navigating new and changing pregnancy symptoms, managing expectations and hopes while waiting for the other shoe to drop, attending all of the milestone scans or appointments - all while managing the thoughts about what’s next with your usual daily life can bring up a lot of feelings that are new and often complicated.

If you’ve struggled with anxiety before, it can feel like your mind has a whole new set of worries to latch onto. Maybe you’re struggling with low mood during pregnancy and wondering what this means about you or what’s ahead. Perhaps you’re now reflecting on your own parent-child dynamics and a lot is coming up for you. Whether it’s your first pregnancy or third, whether you tried for years to conceive or it happened more quickly than expected - every pregnancy is unique and affects your mental health.

Postpartum is often a whole new reality you didn’t expect. Sleepless nights, a complete change in priorities, and so many decisions to make that all feel important to keep your new baby safe and healthy. Many parents are shocked at all of the things “no one told me” and end up feeling lost, alone, inadequate or judged. Every pregnancy and postpartum experience is unique, and it’s helpful to receive support so you can invest in your emotional wellbeing during an important time.

What are PMADs?

PMADs, or perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, is a newer term that encompasses postpartum depression, but also includes anxiety and other mood disorders in both pregnancy and postpartum. According to Postpartum Support International, PMADs are the top complication for pregnancy and childbirth, affecting up to 1 in 5 women and 1 in 10 men during the perinatal period. PMADs can occur due to the significant hormonal changes related to pregnancy, but also occur as a result of the many mental, emotional, relational, and environmental stressors during the perinatal period.

Therapy for postpartum depression and PMADs

PPD can affect as many as 1 in 7 women and 1 in 10 men. And although research shows that untreated PMADs affect the likelihood of premature births, parent-child attachment, and later learning or behavior difficulties for a child, only about 25% of those affected receive professional guidance.

So what prevents people from receiving care? A lack of knowledge, stigma, and silence can keep many people in the dark, trying to muscle through without adequate support. Sometimes new parents may assume it’s “supposed to” be this hard. The good news is that if identified and addressed, PMADs are treatable with therapy and professional help.

How can therapy during pregnancy or postpartum help?

• Have a protected space that prioritizes your mental health and wellbeing

• Understand and process the honest thoughts and feelings that come up in every trimester or stage

• Clarify when mental health symptoms you’re experiencing require more support

• Manage strong feelings or perinatal anxiety or depression with effective coping skills

• Modify what realistic self-care is in this season

• Exercise self-compassion when you make mistakes

• Address unresolved feelings about becoming a parent or past parent-child dynamics

• Navigate complicated relationship dynamics with your partner, family, or in-laws

• Cope with rapid physical (body and sex) and relationship (roles and intimacy) changes

• Deepen self-trust and values so you can make decisions with empowerment

• Process major adjustments (and losses) to your sense of self, relationships, existing family, or work

• Make sense of all the “firsts”, “nobody told me” realizations, or “it wasn’t like this with my other one” moments

Types of therapy for pregnancy and postpartum mood

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT focuses on identifying connections between your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors and has been well researched as a helpful approach to PMADs. Learning to notice and reframe unhelpful thinking patterns or actions help you feel empowered during a key life transition.

Interpersonal Therapy (IPT)

IPT looks at the connection between your relationships and mood. In short, IPT aims to improve interpersonal relationships in order to positively impact mood. It specifically focuses on the presence of interpersonal disputes, life transitions, unresolved grief, and social isolation - all of which are common to experience in the midst of pregnancy and postpartum.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy focuses on teaching a wide range of practical emotional and behavioral strategies to manage and tolerate strong feelings. DBT helps people differentiate between when emotions are helpful versus harmful, and how to balance your emotional self with your rational self in decision-making.

Therapists specializing in pregnancy anxiety and postpartum depression in NYC

Whether you are trying to conceive, are expecting, or have just become a new parent, this process comes with unique challenges that affect you on a deeply personal level. You can navigate them with complete support in therapy.

Our team of psychologists at Manhattan Therapy Collective are trained in a number of therapy approaches that support mood difficulties and role transitions, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, and Interpersonal Therapy. We encourage you to reach out for support - we’d love to connect and be there for you through this beautiful, wild, uncertain, exhausting, and demanding moment in your life.

Don’t buy into the myth that somehow you’re automatically “supposed to know” what to do. Or that you must be perfect, or that you’re only allowed to feel blissfully happy and excited while everything in your world changes. The truth is, as with most things - there is the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to parenthood. Feeling stress, ambivalence, and sadness about what is unexpected or different that your imagined experience is normal. We believe there are many healthy paths to having a baby and becoming a good enough parent - and we’re here to support you on your journey. Book a free consultation today.