BIRTH WORKER
MENTAL HEALTH

As a certified birth doula CD(DONA), I have been witness to both the experiences of new families prenatally, during birth, and postpartum; and also to the experiences of other birth workers as a supervisor and psychotherapist. I have found the work of birth workers to be both exhilarating and heartbreaking. It's such a privilege to support families during this monumental time, and at the same time it can feel like an immense responsibility. Birth workers are at high risk for secondary trauma, burnout, and compassion fatigue. Our strong feelings and connections to our clients can simultaneously make us excellent supporters and sensitive wounded healers. On a broader level, we want to feel the best we can in general so that we can bring positive energy and dedication to the families we serve.

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Psychotherapy with me can be a customized combination of the following and more:
-processing recent or upcoming births
-discussing personal mental health and its impact on our work with birthing families
-passions and pitfalls we discover in birth work
-treatment for symptoms of anxiety, depression, and secondary birth trauma
-ways our own experiences of birth, body image issues, families of origin, fertility and family-building journeys impact our interactions with families
-creating or adapting personal self care plans to accommodate the stressors involved in an on-call lifestyle to prevent burnout and compassion fatigue