Postpartum Anxiety Therapy in Chicago
Affirming, nonjudgmental care in an inclusive environment in Logan Square and Avondale to help you close all of those mental tabs and get off the hamster wheel of postpartum anxiety.
WHAT HAVE WE DONE?!
The postpartum phase can be overwhelming; therapy can help!
Where to begin with the postpartum period? It can be a roller coaster: joy, tears, confusion, testing reflexes when the first blowout occurs. Adjustments abound. Relationships shift. Day becomes night, night becomes… a potentially anxiety-inducing time of feeding, not sleeping, and checking baby’s breathing. After the meal train ends, isolation and sadness can creep in.
Having a nonjudgmental therapy space to discuss all of these adjustments, feelings, and experiences can be incredibly supportive for both birthing and non-birthing partners.
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.
Postpartum anxiety
Postpartum anxiety can feel like a million tabs open in the brain. It can be difficult to differentiate between typical new parent worries (Did the baby eat enough? Why are his nails so sharp? Why do they keep staring at the ceiling fan?) and postpartum anxiety.
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 anxiety often includes:
racing heart
stomachaches
muscle tension
constant worry over the baby’s safety
ruminating over details
trouble concentrating
brain fog
feeling disconnected
irritability
If this sounds like you, Common Thread Counseling can help.
Our Approach to Therapy for Postpartum
Postpartum therapy can help both parents with mood changes, emotional regulation, and major adjustments.
We incorporate:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): to assist you with identifying and replacing negative thought patterns and behaviors
Interpersonal Therapy (IPT): tools to increase healthy communication and support within your relationships.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): increasing psychological flexibility and acceptance of difficult emotions, values clarification and what really matters to you
Postpartum counseling can assist with processing traumatic experiences using narrative therapy and strengths-based techniques.
We can also discuss the experience of matrescence and parenting challenges throughout the lifespan.
An important part of perinatal therapy can be medication management and being connected with the correct prescriber. If you would like, we can help connect you with a reproductive psychiatrist, who specifically works with people in the perinatal period.
