perinatal therapist in california

Motherhood & Therapy

Managing feelings of anxiety, depression, and overwhelm as you parent your child or spend time with your loved ones during the postpartum period is one of the first hurdles of parenting. There is so much happening in these first moments of motherhood; your body just went through an incredibly rigorous feat and now you are caring for a tiny human who you are just getting to know. Sometimes it feels impossible to even get dressed or shower in this early phase of parenting; so the thought of adding an hour long therapy session to focus on your feelings may feel impossible. But stay with me here, this one hour a week can have an incredible impact on your capacity to hold the monumental changes happening.

Feeling joyful, confident, and peaceful about yourself and motherhood is possible. 

There is power in the sacred space created in therapy. This space facilitates the process of finding yourself and your confidence in motherhood even if it feels like emotions are hard for you, the trauma feels overwhelming, or its hard to get out of bed some days. 

Motherhood, for me, wasn’t such a beautiful beginning. My partner and I were excited to make babies, as one is, and we were lucky enough to become pregnant quickly. Sadly, we lost that first baby during our first trimester of pregnancy. I was devastated, grief ridden, and angry. It’s hard to navigate miscarriage. You can read more about that experience here. I subsequently had a healthy pregnancy and birth but was floored by the challenges of breastfeeding shortly after. And this is how parenting goes, there is always a next stage that can feel overwhelming and hard if you haven’t developed the tools to support yourself. There is so much worthiness tied to motherhood in our culture and I got wrapped up in that. It took time, intentionality, and uncovering some shadow aspects of myself to come to a place of loving myself and my child the way I do today. That’s what therapy is about, it’s deeper than just giving you coping strategies for depression or anxiety. It’s about supporting you to lean into your worthiness and fulfilling your role as the mother you want to be. 

It can feel hard to take time for yourself as a mother, there is so much to do ALL THE TIME.  But, when you are able to find ways to better support how you feel it enables you to show up for your children in the way you want. Some of my clients describe that as a result of therapy they are able to show up with calm, presence, and joy. I think every parent should have the opportunity to have that experience.  

If you:

  • Feel anxious, sad, or overwhelmed since becoming a mother
  • Want to feel better
  • and
  • Have 1 hour a week to commit to feeling better

Then take this as your sign to start start your therapeutic journey.

You can contact me here to schedule a free consultation call to see if we are the right fit.

If you don’t feel I am the right fit, here are a few directories I recommend for finding a good fit for you: Goodtherapy, Therapy Den, Latinx Therapy, Therapy for Latinx, and Therapy for Black Girls.

therapy for parents

Dr. Christine Rivera

I am a licensed bilingual and bi-cultural Latina psychologist and speaker who specializes in maternal mental health, children (0-5 years), and families. I offer comprehensive counseling services to individuals and families navigating the life transition into parenthood. I am passionate about raising awareness about maternal & infant mental health within BIPOC communities.