Women often experience emotional changes after giving birth. These can include "baby blues" as well as depression, anxiety, and obsessive compulsive symptoms which can greatly interfere with functioning and quality of life. Up to 20% of women experience depression in postpartum and even more experience bothersome, uncomfortable symptoms of anxiety. For many OCD is a new and scary challenge in pregnancy and postpartum. If you are feeling this way, you are not alone.
At Bloom Psychology, we offer specialized, science-backed treatment for new moms and families struggling in postpartum.
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Dr. Anna Yam is a perinatal psychologist who uses a holistic (whole-person) approach, blending well-established therapies such as Perinatal Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Exposure and Response Prevention (E/RP) to help moms make rapid and lasting improvements in their symptoms. She also provides education and therapy to couples/families to support moms recovering from peripartum mood and anxiety disorders.
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Prenatal Therapy & Preparation for Postpartum
Pregnancy can be a challenging experience, both physically and emotionally. You might be experiencing intense emotions, worrying about the health and safety of your growing baby, or encountering new life stressors. If you have a history of depression, anxiety or trauma, sometimes these issues re-surface in pregnancy. Having a safe, supportive place to process these feelings and to prepare for the fundamental change that is parenthood is excellent preventative care.
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Common therapy topics in prenatal therapy:
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Emotional changes
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Anxiety in pregnancy
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Processing trauma, including history of prior pregnancy losses or traumatic birth and postpartum
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Prenatal obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
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Physical changes
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Preparation for birth
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Preparation for baby care
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Prevention of postpartum depression and anxiety
Therapy for Postpartum Challenges, and Beyond
We are parenting during a unique time. There are more families with both parents in the workplace, more families who don't have enough family support making postpartum, parenting and childcare more overwhelming than it has ever been before. As and experienced perinatal psychologist, Dr. Anna Yam can help mothers and couples navigate and reduce the overwhelm of parenthood.
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Common therapy topics in postpartum and beyond:
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Adjustment to parenthood
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Birth trauma
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Sexual health and reconnecting after having a baby
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Managing caregivers, communication, assertiveness, boundaries
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Return to work, work-family adjustment and management
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Parenting challenges