Infertility, which is defined as a year of trying if you are under 35 and 6 months if you are over the age of 35, affects about 10% to 15% of couples in the U.S. Infertility often makes women feel like they are broken and can be a deeply isolating and shaming experience. Stress, depression, and anxiety often accompany infertility and can worsen as time goes on. Infertility can also take a heavy toll on relationships with family and friends, create financial difficulties, and strain a relationship with a partner. If you are struggling with infertility there are a few th ..read more

When it comes to planning for the 4th trimester, or the first 12 weeks after birth, the focus is often on the baby. But what about the mother? In the 4th trimester the mother will be healing from delivery all while trying to take care of a newborn. Many women experience not just feelings of overwhelm as a result, but potentially serious psychological distress. In fact, psychological difficulties are the number one postpartum complication. There are a number of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) including postpartum depression along with postpartum anxiety, postpartum OCD, postpar ..read more

Unlike postpartum depression (PPD), many people are unaware of postpartum anxiety (PPA). This is true despite the fact that research shows it impacts approximately 10-15% of women.   Whereas PPD is characterized by feelings of sadness, PPA is associated with excessive worry that is difficult to control, restlessness, and difficulties relaxing. Research suggests that 30% of the time PPD and PPA cooccur.    Some women with PPA will experience panic attacks, which can be described as the sudden onset of intense fear that peaks within minutes and involves a number of physical sy ..read more

After experiencing pregnancy loss, the joy and excitement of future pregnancies may be overshadowed by feelings of detachment and/or distress due to the possibility of another loss. In fact, research shows that pregnancy after loss is associated with higher levels of stress, depression, and anxiety. Symptoms of depression may include feelings of sadness, numbness, or emptiness, anger or irritability, loss of interest in things, sleep and/or eating disturbances, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, feelings of hopelessness and even thoughts of suicide. Symptoms of anxiety may include feelin ..read more

Pregnancy loss is a common occurrence. According to research, 20% of pregnancies end in miscarriage, which is defined as a loss that occurs before 20 weeks of gestation, while research shows another 2% end in stillbirth, which is defined as a pregnancy loss that occurs after 20 weeks. While common, these losses can be deeply impactful and traumatic, but there are ways you can support yourself in your grief: 1.    Allow Yourself to Grieve. Allow yourselves to experience a range of emotions, which may include numbness, sadness, shock, anger, confusion, guilt, jealousy, even re ..read more

Because childbirth is thought of as a natural, or joyous, event many people do not realize how risky and potentially traumatic it can be. The reality is that childbirth can be an extremely traumatic, sometimes life-threatening experience, due to complications such as an emergency c-section, postpartum hemorrhage, NICU admissions, etc. In fact, research suggests that 45% of women experience their births as traumatic, with about 4% going on to develop PTSD   Symptoms of PTSD can include emotional distress, flashbacks, nightmares, physical reactivity, guilt, depression, numbness, ir ..read more

What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)? OCD is a term used often in popular culture, but it may be helpful to clarify just exactly what OCD is. It is not just when people are clean and organized or meticulously arrange the clothing in their closet by color; it is a potentially extremely distressing psychological disorder. It stands for obsessive-compulsive disorder and like the same implies it typically includes obsessions and then some type of compulsive behavior. Obsessions are recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges, or images that are experienced as instructive and unwanted and that ..read more

What are SMART Commitments? You may or may not have heard about SMART goals. Oftentimes therapists use them to help clients identify specific goals they have. Typically SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based. I have made a few small tweaks. Instead of attainable, for example, I use aligned with your values. Why have I made that change? Because why you want to make changes is important and staying connected to your why, or your values, can help you make those changes. You may also have noticed that instead of goals, I use commitments. There is an important ..read more

This past week has been an extremely heavy one as protests erupt across the nation in response to the murder of George Floyd, one of many black Americans murdered by those who are meant to serve and protect due to the color of his skin. I am writing this blog post to address white people in particular who are the cause of systemic racism and yet when instances such as this occur often stay silent. "The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people." ~Martin Luther King Jr. I think this occurs for many reasons. I think that on ..read more

Broadly speaking, there are four different types of communication:1) passive communication, 2) assertive communication, 3) aggressive communication, and 4) passive-aggressive communication: 1. Passive Communication- when someone communicates in a passive way they are prioritizing the other person's feelings, needs, and wants at the expense of their own. They are not standing up for themselves, which can lead to feelings of resentment. 2. Assertive Communication- when someone communicates in an assertive way, they are standing up for themselves while also taking the other person's feelings, ne ..read more