Postpartum PTSD Therapy in Chicago
Affirming, nonjudgmental care in an inclusive environment in Logan Square and Avondale to process a traumatic birth, delivery, or medical experience.
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 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Postpartum PTSD shares the same symptoms as PTSD, such as:
flashbacks
nightmares
avoidance
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 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.
