Postpartum Therapy in Chicago
The postpartum phase can be overwhelming; therapy can help!
Therapists at Common Thread Counseling Chicago can help differentiate between a typical baby blues experience and a perinatal mood and anxiety disorder, like depression, anxiety, or OCD.
It can be incredibly hard to talk about postpartum issues, especially when people feel guilt or stigma around ‘complaining’ about their child or parenting difficulties.
Many aspects of welcoming a new baby home (interrupted sleep, hormonal changes, home environment changes, routine shifts, priority changes, financial impacts, mental load and division of labor discussions, boundary setting with in-laws) can cause a roller coaster of emotions. Having a nonjudgmental therapy space to discuss all of these adjustments can be incredibly supportive for both birthing and non-birthing partners.
Postpartum conditions that therapy can help with include:
Postpartum depression
Postpartum depression is a common disorder experienced up to a year after birth, though studies have shown it can surface years after.
Symptoms can include intense feelings of sadness, despair, difficulty bonding with the baby, irritability, withdrawing from friends and family, and fatigue (beyond normal new parent fatigue).
Postpartum depression differs from baby blues in that it is a mood disorder that can start any time in the perinatal period and can last for months to years if left untreated. Baby blues are related to the intense drop in hormones after birth, include oscillating mood swings, typically start 2-3 days after birth, and last around two weeks.
Postpartum anxiety
Postpartum anxiety can feel like a million tabs open in the brain all at once. Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate between typical new parent worries (Did the baby eat enough? Is the carseat done properly? Why do they keep staring at the ceiling fan?) and persistent anxiety. Postpartum anxiety often includes the same physical symptoms of GAD, like racing heart, stomachaches, and muscle tension.
Mentally, it can look like constant worry over the baby’s safety or the future, ruminating over details, trouble concentrating, and brain fog.
Emotionally, it can lead to feeling disconnected, emotionally exhausted, on edge, and angry.
Postpartum anxiety is typically more intense than typical parent worry, has a longer duration, impacts concentration and sleep, and does not go away with reassurance (like after a doctor’s appointment).
Postpartum OCD
Postpartum OCD is unwanted (intrusive), distressing thoughts about harm coming to the baby. A majority of birthing people and their partners have intrusive thoughts. When the thoughts lead to anxiety, avoidance, and distress, they can interfere with daily functioning and wellbeing.
Intrusive thoughts are ego-dystonic (conflict with the person’s values or beliefs) instead of ego-syntonic (thoughts that align with beliefs).
Intrusive thoughts could center around contamination or harming the baby. These thoughts can be incredibly difficult to talk about because of associated shame; a perinatal therapist, like at Common Thread Counseling Chicago, can assist with naming the thoughts as intrusive and normalizing the experience.
Postpartum OCD is also very different from postpartum psychosis, in which the person could also be experiencing hallucinations, delusions, and confusion. Postpartum psychosis is a medical emergency, and is not treated through talk therapy and medication management alone.
Postpartum Bipolar Disorder
Research shows that about 50% of women who are diagnosed with bipolar disorder are diagnosed postpartum.
Symptoms will alter slightly depending if someone has bipolar one or bipolar two, but usually the most recognizable symptom will be a manic or hypomanic episode, which can include lowered need for sleep, high levels of energy, impulsive behavior, racing thoughts, rapid speech, and feelings of grandiosity.
Childbirth can trigger a manic episode, often followed by a depressive episode. Medication management is a crucial component of Bipolar disorder.
Postpartum Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Postpartum PTSD shares the same symptoms as PTSD, such as flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance, and mood changes. PPTSD can lead to a parent having difficulty bonding with their baby, isolating from others, and exacerbating symptoms of anxiety and depression.
PPTSD can result from a traumatic labor and delivery, such as unwanted interventions, feeling helpless, perceived fear of death or injury to baby or birthing person, or from a prior trauma being triggered by labor and delivery. PPTSD can be experienced by both the birthing person and their partner.
Our Approach to Therapy for Postpartum
Postpartum therapy can help birthing and non-birthing parents with mood changes, emotional regulation, adjusting to life shifts, relational and work shifts.
We incorporate cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), interpersonal therapy (IPT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) into sessions to assist you with identifying and replacing negative thought patterns and behaviors, increasing psychological flexibility and acceptance of difficult emotions, values clarification and what really matters to you, and tools to increase healthy communication and support within your relationships
An important part of perinatal therapy can be medication management and being connected with the correct prescriber. We can help connect you with a reproductive psychiatrist, who specifically works with people in the perinatal period.
Postpartum counseling can assist with processing traumatic experiences using narrative therapy, strengths based techniques, and CBT tools. We can also discuss the experience of matrescence and parenting challenges throughout the lifespan.
