Since deciding to relaunch the blog, I’ve been thinking a lot about my inaugural post. There is no shortage of topics to cover as we trudge into the busy back-to-school season. As a therapist, I strive to bring my authentic self into sessions with my clients, helping them connect with their full selves, together leaning into topics that can feel uncomfortable and hard to hold. I wanted to start our blog off in the same way

You might feel as though your partner is just a roommate during this time or you might not even like your partner right now. It happens, but just because it’s common doesn’t mean we don’t want to address it and attend to it. Having a baby is a different experience for each person in the partnership…

Gender disappointment is a shorthand way of describing numerous reasons why someone has a preference or feels disappointment about the sex of their baby.

Grief is at the center of the intense and complex emotions around embryo disposition, says Emma Basch, a psychologist in D.C. who counsels people struggling with infertility.

Anxiety is a normal and expected part of pregnancy because it’s a normal, expected and necessary part of being a human. While some degree of anxiety is typical, if your worry is feeling all consuming, gets in the way of daily life or is impacting your sleep or physical health, you may have an anxiety disorder.

It turns out EMDR practitioners agree that EMDR is a great option if you’ve experienced birth trauma. (Or any other trauma for that matter.) I decided to interview 4 EMDR clinicians for this piece. These therapists are Emma Basch, Psy.D., Julie Bindeman, Psy.D, Sultana Karim, M.A., LCPC, LPC, CCTP, Megan MacCutcheon, LPC, PMH-C.

Congratulations – you’re pregnant! Perhaps you’ve spent years seeking fertility treatment, are pregnant after a loss or relied on a gamete donor or gestational carrier, or maybe conceiving without intervention was simple for you. You’ve scheduled your OB or midwife appointment and are diligently taking your prenatal vitamins. But are you taking care of your emotional health?

Topics covered include perinatal mental health and matrescence.

But there is something off-putting about the confluence of social media and for-profit parenting advice. Emma Basch, a Washington DC-based therapist who frequently works with mothers of young children, says she has watched various parenting trends come and go, almost like fad diets.

If you are at high risk of developing prenatal depression, Dr. Basch recommends starting therapy while trying to conceive or early in your pregnancy to maintain your mental health throughout the perinatal period

Your doctor can diagnose postpartum depression as early as 10 to 14 days after giving birth, says Emma Basch, PsyD, a licensed clinical psychologist. At that time, if you are still experiencing mood symptoms on most days, and if those symptoms are impacting your functioning, then your doctor can diagnose postpartum depression.

Interviewed for ABC 7, “The Motherside”- Navigating Prenatal Anxiety and Postpartum Depression in a Pandemic