Pregnancy and Postpartum Counselling in Mississauga
Counselling for expecting parents, new parents and couples in the first years with a baby. Anxiety in pregnancy, postpartum depression, birth trauma, pregnancy loss, and the strain a new baby puts on a relationship.
When Pregnancy or Postpartum Anxiety Takes Over
Some people come to me while they're still pregnant. They've had a loss before and can't let themselves believe this one will be different, or the birth is getting closer and the fear is getting louder. Everyone tells them to enjoy it, and they can't.
Others come months after the baby arrives. They lie awake while the baby finally sleeps, running through everything that could go wrong. Or they feel flat and far away, going through the motions with a baby who feels like a stranger. Some are angrier than they've ever been and hate that about themselves.
And for a lot of couples, the relationship takes the hit. You're both exhausted, keeping score over night feeds and who got a break, and the person you used to turn to has started to feel like the one you're most upset with.
WORKING WITH ME
Support for the Months Around a New Baby
I'm Sherriden Brown. Before I became a psychotherapist I trained as a midwife, and I've since trained in perinatal mood and anxiety and in pregnancy loss. Most of my practice is couples, so I see the new-parent version of a stuck relationship often: the same pattern as any couple, arriving faster and with less sleep.
Online sessions are often easiest at this stage, since you don't need childcare or a quiet house. The Port Credit office is there when you want to get out of the house.
MY PROCESS
How Perinatal Therapy Works With Me
We start with what's weighing on you most, whether that's worry that won't switch off, a birth you keep replaying, or a loss the people around you seem to have moved past.
I work with Emotionally Focused Therapy, which means we go underneath the anxiety or the numbness to the feelings driving it. For many new parents that's guilt, or grief, or a fear they haven't said out loud to anyone.
You can come on your own or with your partner. When you come together, we look at the pattern that has taken over since the baby arrived and work on turning back toward each other. That's the same work I do in
couples counselling, arriving faster and on less sleep.
What Your Future Could look Like
Feeling Like Yourself Again, and Like a Team at Home
The worry still shows up some nights, and it's quieter, and you know how to talk yourself down from it. You can think about the birth without your chest tightening. If you've had a loss, you've found a way to carry it that doesn't mean pushing it away.
At home, you can say you're struggling without it turning into an argument about who's more tired. You ask for help before you're running on empty, and your partner hears it as information instead of criticism. There's room again to enjoy the baby, and each other.
THE PRACTICAL DETAILS
Starting Prenatal or Postnatal Counselling in Mississauga
With a due date on the calendar or a newborn at home, getting started needs to be simple. Here's what sessions cost, where we meet, and when I'm available.
Fees and Insurance
Each 50-minute session is $230. OHIP doesn't cover psychotherapy, but most extended health plans do, and I bill them directly.
Online or in Port Credit
Online sessions are open to anyone in Ontario, and you don't need childcare or a quiet house. My office is in Port Credit, a few minutes' walk from the GO station, and your baby is welcome to come with you.
Session Times
Weekdays between 9 and 6. You can book online at a time that fits around feeds and naps.
Not Sure If What You're Feeling Is Normal?
Book a free 15-minute call and tell me what's been happening. If your doctor, your midwife or a postpartum program would help you more right now, I'll say so, and if what you need is individual therapy without the baby focus, I offer that too.
FAQs
Questions About Therapy During and After Pregnancy
What new and expecting parents usually ask me before they book.
How do I know if it's the baby blues or postpartum depression?
The baby blues start in the first few days after birth and usually lift within two weeks. If low mood, anxiety or tearfulness lasts longer than that, gets worse, or makes it hard to get through the day, it may be postpartum depression or anxiety, and it's worth getting support.
Is postpartum rage a real thing?
Yes. Sudden anger that feels out of proportion, snapping at your partner, or feeling like your blood is always boiling is a common and rarely talked about part of postpartum depression and anxiety. It responds well to therapy.
Are intrusive thoughts about my baby normal?
Unwanted, frightening thoughts about harm coming to your baby are common with postpartum anxiety, and having them doesn't mean you'd act on them. They're very treatable. If you ever feel you might act on a thought, or you're seeing or hearing things others aren't, contact your doctor or go to the nearest emergency department right away.
Can therapy help after a traumatic birth?
Yes. A birth doesn't have to look dramatic from the outside to be traumatic. If you keep replaying it, avoid reminders of it, or feel anxious about another pregnancy, therapy can help you process what happened.
Do you offer support after a miscarriage or pregnancy loss?
Yes, including miscarriage, stillbirth and termination for medical reasons. Grief after a loss often resurfaces in a later pregnancy, and that's something we can work with too.
Can dads and partners come, or is this only for mothers?
Partners can struggle in this period as well, and they're welcome on their own or with you. When you come together, couples counselling gives you both a place to work on what's changed between you since the baby.