Perinatal Mental Health
Perinatal mental health counseling & psychotherapy
Support for anxiety, depression, mood disorders, and emotional overwhelm during pregnancy and the postpartum period — including pregnancies following a previous loss.
- Care Modes
- In-person & Telehealth
- Licensed
- MD · PA · PSYPACT
- Certified
- IPPE-C
- Focus
- Perinatal Mental Health
The perinatal period — pregnancy, birth, and the months that follow — can bring profound emotional change. Many individuals experience anxiety, depression, intrusive thoughts, panic, sleep difficulties, mood swings, irritability, or feelings of overwhelm during this time. These experiences are common, often treatable, and deserve compassionate professional support.
Perinatal mental health concerns can be intensified by previous pregnancy loss, infertility, medical complications, traumatic births, or significant life stress. Some individuals struggle with bonding, identity changes, body image, postpartum trauma, or fear of recurrence in future pregnancies.
Specialized therapy can help you understand what you are experiencing, develop coping strategies, address trauma responses, process complex emotions, and reconnect with yourself, your baby, and your relationships during this vulnerable time.
In therapy we may work with
How perinatal mental health therapy can help
- Pregnancy-related anxiety and depression
- Postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety
- Panic attacks and intrusive thoughts
- Birth trauma and traumatic medical experiences
- Pregnancy after loss anxiety
- Bonding and attachment concerns
- Sleep difficulties and emotional exhaustion
- Identity changes and adjustment to parenthood
- Relationship strain during the perinatal period
My approach
A warm, evidence-based approach
My approach is warm, collaborative, and grounded in evidence-based psychotherapy. I draw on attachment theory, trauma-informed care, and an understanding of the unique emotional landscape of the perinatal period to support clients through this vulnerable time.
Area of focus
Specialized therapy for the perinatal period
I provide specialized psychotherapy for individuals coping with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, birth trauma, pregnancy after loss anxiety, postpartum depression, and the complex emotional terrain of pregnancy and early parenthood.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Why am I so anxious during pregnancy after miscarriage?
Pregnancy after loss often brings intense anxiety, fear, and emotional uncertainty. Many individuals feel unable to fully trust the pregnancy or their bodies after a previous loss. It is common to experience constant worry, hypervigilance, difficulty bonding with the pregnancy, fear before appointments, or emotional conflict between hope and fear.
Can therapy help after pregnancy loss?
Therapy can help individuals process grief, trauma, anxiety, guilt, shame, relationship strain, and emotional overwhelm related to pregnancy loss. Specialized therapy may provide support in coping with miscarriage, stillbirth, recurrent pregnancy loss, infertility-related grief, reproductive trauma, and pregnancy after loss anxiety.
How do I know if I should seek therapy after pregnancy loss?
It may be helpful to seek therapy if grief, anxiety, trauma symptoms, emotional overwhelm, relationship difficulties, or fear about future pregnancies are interfering with your daily life or emotional wellbeing. Many individuals also seek therapy simply because they want a supportive space to process their experience with someone who understands reproductive grief and trauma.
Written by
Rayna D. Markin, PhD
Licensed psychologist · IPPE-C credentialed · Associate Professor in Counseling · President-Elect, Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy (Division 29, APA) · Associate editor, APA journal Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, and Training · Author of Psychotherapy for Pregnancy Loss
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