About Me + Why I Love Helping New Moms Grow
However it is that you found me, I’m so glad you’re here. I’m hoping this blog will give you a little more of a sense of what I do to support new moms, and how our working together might help you through some of the struggles you could be facing.
When looking for professional support, it’s so important to find the right fit, and I know so well how helpful it can be connect with another mom who’s been where you are.
My goal for you is to feel better about yourself + more confident about motherhood, and I’ll share a little more about me and how I think I can help you with that here.
About Me.
I’m a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) with a specialty in perinatal mental health, practicing therapy with mothers + their families since 2016. I came into doing this work after my becoming a mom myself, and realizing just how incredibly hard the adjustment can be.
Until I was in it, I had no idea how impossibly lonely, isolating, and exhausting it would feel! I also didn’t know how much I would compare myself to other moms, or worry all the time about all the ways I might be making mistakes. After a scary first birth experience (your typical induction turned c-section due to a quick onset high risk medical condition), I was pretty depressed and finding it difficult to feel connected to my daughter. I was painfully anxious those first months, even having my first panic attack during that time. My life felt like it was on auto-pilot, and I was especially detached and sad when I had to return to a full-time agency job after only a handful of maternity leave weeks. It wasn’t until a good friend and fellow mother suggested to me then that medication could help, that it even occurred to me I might be experiencing something more significant — what I now know was definitely a perinatal mood disorder (PMAD).
In hindsight, it was without a doubt the medication + my own therapy that definitely helped me recover from the symptoms of postpartum depression and PTSD, and it would through talking about my feelings + experiences that I was able to feel better about myself as a mom. All these years later I still feel the pressure everyday to “get it right,” and I have to work very hard to keep the negative voices + shame from taking down my confidence again.
It’s from this personal experience + the tenderness I now feel for other women going through this season of life that I decided to become trained in perinatal mental health and support other women in the adjustment to new motherhood.
How I can help you.
In my practice, I strive to create a safe space where moms can feel supported, identify what you need help with, and adjust to your own motherhood challenges. I love to help moms like you feel normalized + validated in the struggles, and understand that it’s absolutely okay if you don’t enjoy your experience of being a mom.
I offer a lot of psycho-education about adjustment to motherhood, to help you understand what you may be experiencing + why. One framework that I often use is the concept of “matrescence,” or what we call the developmental stage + role transitions a woman goes through in becoming a mother. I find it can be so helpful in validating everything that’s hard about new motherhood, and it made all the difference in my understanding of what I’ve been through.
Besides validating your experience, I also love to help you better understand how your body and nervous system work together with your thinking. We work together to help you identify problematic core beliefs about yourself, and patterns of attachment in your relationships that may be informing the struggles you’re having. I’ve found that using a blend of all these frameworks can really help moms grow new ways of thinking + coping that ultimately help you feel much better.
You’re my ideal client.
If you’re reading this, you’re probably somewhere on the motherhood path and one of my most favorite people to support.
Whether it’s preparing to have a baby, or maybe going through infertility – or coping with being pregnant, adjusting to postpartum life, or navigating relationship problems that you and your partner or other family members may be having, I bring my deep learning and compassion to help you feel better about the path your’re on. I also can absolutely support you if you’re suffering from the effects of a traumatic birth or perinatal loss like still birth or miscarriage as well.
I really love working with women anywhere in their motherhood journey, and helping you feel seen, supported and strong – wherever you are in that process.
How we’ll work together.
My practice is completely virtual, which means I can meet with you by secure video or phone throughout the states of North Carolina (NC), South Carolina (SC) and Florida (FL).
For moms I know, my tele-health format is even preferred since it’s super flexible to your schedule, and allows you to meet from anywhere you need to be.
And if you’re a mom with any other childcare options, I always welcome your little ones in our sessions too, which is especially helpful in those early days when sleep and feeding can be such a challenge.
I can’t wait to meet you.
I know without a doubt that when you get support, you will feel better and enjoy motherhood more, and it’s such an honor and privelege for me to get to do this work everyday with the amazing mothers I’ve come to know.
If you’re ready to feel more calm, confidence + joy as a mom, or if you just have a question about what you’re going through — please reach out! I would love to connect more with you too, and support you wherever you are on your own path to blooming well.
Take good care of yourself until then.
Warmly, Keely
We’re always still growing 💐
