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I have particular interest in working with people during childbearing years as it’s such an informative time for a new child. Supporting and delivering good quality therapy to parents during this time offers a real opportunity for them to make positive changes from which they can provide a secure, healthy environment for their baby to grow.

If you were expecting life to be the picture of domestic bliss, baking, devoting your time between your bouncing baby, keeping up with the household chores and attending lunch appointments you may be lucky if this is the case. For many of us we find the actual picture resembles feeling haggard with lack of sleep, desperately wanting to get things done at the pace we’ve always been used to, unsure of our new identity, and having ambivalent feelings towards, or about, our newborn. This is a realistic image of new motherhood and if, on top of this there are other issues, life can be tough.

If you are struggling with the experience of any of the following you may be considering specialist support.

• Finding the experience of parenthood overwhelming
• Experiencing mental/emotional difficulties
• Struggling with antenatal stress, anxiety or depression
• Experiencing relationship difficulties
• Bereaved through loss of a loved one or separation
• Lost or terminated a pregnancy

Individual Therapy
Individual therapy gives you space just for you. If you are struggling with difficult emotions and /or stress, allowing yourself the time and space to gain greater awareness and clear unwanted emotions, will in return, carry huge benefits to you and your baby.   

Mothers are often concerned that getting upset and distressed can be of detriment to their baby (foetal or newborns). It is true that babies can have their development hindered when the stress hormone, cortisol, is released, but only significant damage occurs with prolonged and sustained experience. On the other hand, babies thrive on hormones such as oxytocin, which are released when feelings of love are experienced. Bearing this in mind, the experience of counselling and therapy is one where clients bring their upsetting issues and find new ways, with the help of the therapist, to reduce their stress, understand why it occurs, and foster deeper resources, allowing the oxytocin to flow more readily. It is known that babies are intrinsically connected to their mothers, in the womb and out, and it is my belief that as long as mum allows their experience to be processed (to move through to a completion) then their babies learn that lovely settled feelings occur after chaotic and troubled ones.

Often, early intervention is important in order to catch symptoms before they get too ingrained. If you have gone past the ‘baby blues’ phase and consider your experience to be more intense, deeper or ongoing, it would be recommended to seek support.   

The length of counselling you will require will wholly depend on your individual needs. Some people only require 1 to 2 sessions and find they have cleared, healed or changed what they came with. Some need longer, in the region of eight to fifteen sessions, whilst others choose to undertake deep long term work (one plus years).    
If you are able to attend without your baby for most or some of the sessions this can be helpful. If not, he or she is welcome and can be catered for.    
If you require individual therapy please contact Natasha (see ‘contacts’) to for an informal chat. For information about what to expect from therapy, please go to ‘Taking first steps’