THERAPY FOR OVERWHELMED MOMS and mothers-to-Be IN CARY NC.
Find Joy in Every Stage of Motherhood
Does it Feel like You are Trying So Hard, but You’re Not Getting Where You Want to Go?
You are exhausted, spinning your wheels, and wondering how long you can keep this up. You’re frustrated trying to keep all of the plates spinning without any falling. Struggling to keep up with the needs of a family, possibly a baby, maybe other kids too, even teens or adult children, work, and your partner. There just aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything you need done and think about your own needs. You’re thinking life isn’t supposed to feel like this.
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Are You Worried About Your Relationships? Maybe you are having a difficult pregnancy, or experiencing difficulty becoming or staying pregnant, and you are worried about how the stress is affecting your relationships. You might be a new mom trying to adjust to the beautiful tornado that has just blown into your life, and you are worried about your relationship with your partner or baby. Or maybe you are a mom with (or without) ADHD, and you are trying to parent a child with ADHD, Autism, Anxiety (or other challenges), and you are filled with anxiety and self-doubt. You might be feeling unappreciated while you are doing your absolute best to mother a prickly teenager or an adult child who needs help but often rejects you when you try to help them. Or maybe you are a mother (or a daughter) who wants to have a closer, better relationship with your daughter (or your mother) than you did.
Are you a Mother with ADHD or Anxiety? See My Specialty Pages for Moms with Anxiety and Moms with ADHD.
It’s okay to need some help. You want to enjoy motherhood. You thought being a mom would be a joyful and fulfilling part of your life, and you don’t want to miss it. I can help you be (and feel like) a great mother and experience the joy and fulfillment you always thought would be part of being a mom.
I Believe Mothers Have the Ability to Change the World. At their Best, they are Nurturing Powerhouses who Shape and Guide their Families.
I help mothers feel capable and confident as the “glue” that holds their families together. It doesn’t matter if you have a partner or what stage of motherhood you are in. I want you to feel like you are taking good care of yourself and your family just like you always wanted.
I work with women who are looking for relief from the pressure of balancing their own needs and the needs of their partners and children. Women who want to have good relationships, yet be independent and create a life they choose for themselves. Women who want to be able to depend on both themselves and their partners. Women who want close, loving relationships with their children, friends, and family. I work with committed moms who are dedicated to being great mothers. Moms who want to feel good about themselves at work and at home.
I will tailor your therapy specifically to you as a woman and a mother, depending on what you need. The beginning of therapy will focus on bringing you out of “Crisis Mode.” Next we will focus on what you need to thrive. We will be a team and I will hear you when you tell me what you need. If you aren’t sure or you don’t know how to get to where you want to be, we will find the answers together. During therapy, clients tell me they are able to do things they never thought they could because they have someone who knows how to guide them and they no longer feel scared, confused, and alone.
Click here if you want to learn more about me and my approach to therapy.
Therapy Specialties
Journey to Motherhood
The idea of becoming a mom is supposed to bring up only feelings of joyful anticipation right? But in reality it often brings many unexpected feelings like confusion, fear, self-doubt, anxiety and depression. You are making very important decisions, preparing for a gigantic life transition, possibly grieving the loss of another baby and you are likely anxious about being pregnant or becoming pregnant. You might also be terrified you might have to give up your dream of starting a family.
Deciding if and when you want to try and have a baby can cause serious conflict in your relationship. So can the process of trying to become pregnant after a miscarriage or after infertility issues. If you have lost a baby, you may still need to grieve your loss. If you are pregnant, you may be feeling sick and miserable or worried about your health or your baby’s health. If you are unsure if you want to have a baby or you don’t have a partner or a very dependable partner, you are probably feeling very overwhelmed. This is important for you and your relationship and I can help you get through it and come out stronger in the end.
I can help you work through the confusing mixture of feelings becoming pregnant or being pregnant can bring. There are many reasons you may feel anxious and unsure. Therapy with me will help you feel confident about your decisions and your future, whether the issue is about starting a family, being pregnant, giving birth, or becoming a mother.
New Moms: Postpartum
So many new mothers tell me they just want to “feel like themselves again.” After having one of the biggest life-changing experiences you have ever had, you may be feeling sad, overwhelmed, disappointed, lost, or alone. Maybe you are having trouble getting back to sleep after getting the baby down. You lay awake and wonder when, if ever, you are going to feel better. You expected to feel only positive feelings about the baby but maybe you have thoughts that worry you. You feel tired, lonely, and bored, and like you are just going through the motions to get through the day.
Despite feeling depressed and anxious now, you CAN gain the confidence you need to enjoy your new baby and this new experience. I can help you learn how to feel better.
I will help you manage the many demands you are experiencing and all of the feelings you are having as a new mom. I will help you learn how to care for your baby, your family, and most importantly yourself so you can enjoy this special time. If this is your first baby, or if you had difficulty after a previous baby, you can make this time feel very different and SO MUCH better than how you are feeling now (or how you felt the last time you gave birth). It is time for you to feel like a calm, confident mother and love this special time in your life.
The Middle Years of Motherhood
Parenting is a marathon and one of the most difficult challenges you will face as an adult. It is okay to need help with your parenting skills and your ability to care for yourself during the endurance challenge this phase of life brings. You need to be at your best to have the energy, motivation, and confidence necessary to help your family members who are depending on you during this time.
Did you have a difficult childhood and you want to do better as a parent, a lot better? I can help you understand your past so you can make your future what YOU want.
Or maybe you have a challenging mother or mother-in-law? In therapy, you will learn how to manage and strengthen the relationships that are important to you whether you are having trouble with your biological family, your in-laws, conflict with your children, or you are feeling lonely and disconnected from your partner or friends.
Maybe you love your career but you are struggling with work-life balance. It doesn’t matter if you don’t work, work part-time, full-time, or you are making peace with having to work, juggling it all AND being happy as a mom can be really hard. It doesn’t matter why you feel lost, disorganized, or like you are not a good enough parent to your toddlers, preschoolers, kids or teens, I can help you learn how to have greater self-confidence, and how to avoid (or get out of) Mom Burnout.
Seasoned Mothers
This stage of mothering may leave you feeling unsure of WHO you are now that your kids are grown (or almost grown). Maybe you are struggling with trying to decide WHAT to do now that you have an “empty nest” or now that your kids are leaving for college. I can help you discover your new passion, and a new passion for life.
You might feel like you are failing trying to manage all of the demands that are a part of this stage of your life. I will help you learn how to take care of yourself while you effectively parent high school, college-age, or even adult children.
You may be actively parenting while also caring for an aging parent or even grieving the death of a parent. It is so hard to balance caring for yourself and others without feeling like you are running on empty. I can help you grieve these losses.
This is often a time where we take stock of our lives. Are you questioning your past choices or struggling with mistakes you feel you have made or with the many roads not taken? Let me help you work through these feelings so you can feel better, lighter, and more at peace.
You might be struggling with your relationship with your adult child or their partner. Maybe you feel like you don’t know what to do in your new role as the mother of adult children who now have their own opinions and lives. I can help you strengthen your relationship with your partner, your children, and the new members in your family.
In therapy, you can rediscover yourself in this new chapter. You will learn what is most important to you and how to strengthen or totally rebuild your family relationships. It doesn’t matter what age your children are or where you are in your motherhood journey, your ability to adapt to the many changes in your relationships over time plays a critical role in how you feel about yourself, your relationships, and your future.
Moms with Anxiety and Parenting Anxious Kids
With motherhood, it seems, comes worry and stress. Lots of it. I remember when my first was born, I was overwhelmed by an intrusive thought of her getting sexually assaulted in college (she was five days old). I was watching a Pampers commercial, having these weird, random, scary thoughts, and just crying. First, I had to help myself, but this was the moment when helping postpartum mothers became my mission.
I know how committed you are to being a good mother and protecting your children and your family. It is terrible, as a mother, you must learn how to live with how many things can go wrong in this world. We do have to learn to cope with these possibilities and still find a way to be happy. Boys are just as vulnerable as girls, just in different ways. We can worry as much about them as much as girls or sometimes even more.
As a psychologist and a mother, I know one thing for sure: The best thing you can ever do for your children is to do everything possible to feel the best YOU possibly can. When you are happy, you have the energy and confidence to help them when they need you.
You might be lying awake at night worrying about your parenting, work, or relationships. Health concerns, financial issues, or other family members might be stressing you. You may have physical symptoms, such as headaches, restlessness, tension, and pain. I will help you learn how to sleep well, eat healthily, and enjoy your life again.
Are you parenting a child with too much anxiety? It can be so difficult to know how to help them. We know we need to provide support and encouragement, but it is hard to be patient when your fear is steering the mothering bus.
Let me help you feel calm, confident, and comfortable with yourself AND your future. I can help you keep anxiety from ruling your life (or ruining the best parts of it) and how to mother a child who risks doing the same. Anxiety is a necessary part of life, but you CAN learn how to use it to help you and get where you want to go. Anxiety is treatable; it can get better. I know you can do it, and I know you can help your child, too.
Moms with ADHD and Parenting ADHD Kids
Your ADHD symptoms have gotten worse with motherhood. There are so many things to manage, and SO MUCH to keep up with. You feel like you are always behind, or always struggling to stay afloat.
Or maybe you are struggling with the challenge of parenting a child with ADHD. You want to provide them with the best skills and resources possible so they can reach their potential and become happy, healthy grown-ups.
I can help if you have ADHD, you’re child has ADHD, or both. The more you learn how to help yourself, the more you will be able to support your child. Helping yourself will give you confidence, and you will pass this confidence to your child.
If you don’t have ADHD, but your child does, I can help you learn how to help them so they trust when they hit an obstacle, they can overcome it. I will supply you with knowledge and confidence you know what to do. You will feel empowered and strong.
I Work with People Who Have Never Been to Therapy and People Who Have. It Doesn’t Matter, Either Way, Working with Me, You will get Comfortable with Therapy Quickly
You Need to Take three important steps:
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1. Decide that your happiness and your family’s well-being are worth fighting for
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2. Take the step to sign up for a free consultation and begin counseling. Do have a question? Contact Me Here.
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| 3. Start feeling happier and more confident knowing that you have started down the right path. Feel more at peace knowing you are going to create happy healthy family relationships and feel proud of becoming the mother you always wanted to be. |
What If You Felt:
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Calm and Confident you are a good mother
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Peaceful, Gentle, Organized and Ready to Play
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Certain you are creating a happy family
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Great about your relationships with your children and your partner