Perinatal Mental Health and Infertility
The birth of a child is a time of meaningful transition. Whether you're anticipating the arrival of a new baby, adjusting to parenthood, or exploring the path of adoption, navigating the perinatal period can feel rocky at times. While it’s normal to experience a range of feelings including uncertainty, anxiety, and mood changes, an estimated 20% of people will experience symptoms of depression, anxiety, OCD, or other mood disorders during pregnancy or postpartum (collectively known as Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs).
At our practice, we understand the complexities of perinatal mental health and provide specialized support, tailored to your unique needs. Our providers are trained in diagnosing, assessing, and treating PMADs using evidence-based therapies like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).
Beyond treating PMADs, we offer compassionate, specialized individual and couples therapy for clients navigating the many identity and role shifts that come with becoming a parent.
An estimated one out of every ten couples have difficulty conceiving. Navigating the process of family building while struggling with infertility can be a deeply isolating, stressful, physically taxing, and emotionally consuming experience. Our practice specializes in providing compassionate evidence-based support to individuals and couples going through fertility treatment. Our team has received advanced training in infertility counseling, is knowledgeable about infertility treatment, and works closely with many local fertility clinics to collaborate on client care.
Our clinicians incorporate a variety of therapeutic approaches and often draw from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and mindfulness techniques to help clients manage the emotional impact of fertility treatment, including strategies to navigate the two-week wait, manage feelings of uncertainty and hopelessness, and tools to stay grounded and present during treatment.
Infertility
Perinatal Loss
Pregnancy loss is a heart-wrenching reality faced by many people in the process of building their families. Many families feel alone in their experience, struggle with guilt and self-blame, and find that their grief remains unacknowledged or even stigmatized. Our dedicated team understands the unique grief associated with perinatal loss and is well-versed in supporting clients through the range of complex emotions that accompany loss. We provide compassionate support for individuals and couples coping with grief after miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal loss, termination for medical reasons, and selective reduction.
Through individual therapy, couples counseling, and group support, we help families process their grief, memorialize their losses, and find solace and healing in their shared experiences. Whether you're seeking support following a loss, working through a difficult decision around termination, or navigating a subsequent pregnancy after loss, our team is here to help.
Perinatal and Birth Trauma
Birth trauma refers to physical or emotional trauma experienced during or after childbirth. Birth trauma can impact the birthing person or a partner who witnessed the birth. Many factors can contribute to birth trauma including childbirth that didn’t go as planned or expected, birth complications or the need for emergency interventions during birth, feeling unseen or unsupported during the birth experience, birth injuries, or simply having a trauma history. If birth trauma is not addressed, it can lead to persistent symptoms including PTSD.
Our team is trained to effectively treat birth trauma and address trauma-related symptoms. We work with trauma survivors navigating pregnancy and birth, survivors of birth trauma, and clients with perinatal PTSD. Dr. Basch and Ms. Stutz have specialized training in EMDR for perinatal mental health concerns including birth trauma, and offer EMDR during pregnancy and postpartum.
Peripartum Body Image & Eating Concerns
Our therapists have expertise in supporting pregnant and postpartum clients navigating current or past eating disorders, disordered eating, and body image concerns. We understand the unique complexities of navigating the perinatal period with an eating disorder or disordered eating and take a comprehensive and collaborative approach to patient care. This can include working closely with healthcare providers to ensure safe care, referrals to HAES-aligned nutritionists, and supporting our client’s self-advocacy. We also specialize in addressing body image concerns, working towards body neutrality and acceptance. We utilize mindfulness-based, values-oriented, and behavioral interventions to reduce body-checking and body shame and strengthen your connection to your body. We identify as a HAES-aligned, anti-diet practice.
Fertility Consultations and Third-Party Reproduction
Our team has received extensive training in supporting families through all aspects of infertility treatment. We understand the emotional and psychological challenges that come with infertility, and we are here to provide comprehensive support every step of the way. Dr. Basch provides consultations for clients utilizing Donor-Assisted Reproduction or surrogates, including single parents, LGBTQIA+ couples, and clients using familial donors or donor banks to build their families. She also works with gamete donors and gestational carriers and provides consultation, psychological testing, and evaluation.
These consultation appointments are crucial to ensuring that all parties are well-prepared, well-informed, and emotionally ready to utilize a donor or surrogate. Dr. Basch is licensed in DC, NY, and more than 40 other states for telehealth through PsyPact. This allows her to conduct telehealth services for third-party reproduction consultations where parties reside in different states. Please check here for an updated list of states participating in PsyPact.
Compassionate and Expert Care for Perinatal Mental Health and Infertility
Navigating the complexities of perinatal mental health, infertility, and perinatal loss can be challenging, but you don't have to do it alone. Our dedicated team is here to provide the specialized support you need. Whether you're dealing with PMADs, infertility, perinatal loss, birth trauma, or body image concerns during pregnancy and postpartum, we offer evidence-based therapies and compassionate support.