Online postpartum therapy for new moms

Who this is for

This page is for new mothers in the first year or so after birth or adoption, including parents whose pregnancy or birth didn’t go as planned. Partners struggling after a new baby are welcome too.

You might notice that:

• worry about the baby that’s hard to switch off
• crying, irritability or sadness that lasts longer than the first couple of weeks
• intrusive, frightening thoughts you would never act on but can’t shake
• feeling disconnected from the baby, your partner or yourself
• guilt about not enjoying this time the way you expected
• trouble sleeping even when the baby sleeps

This is individual psychotherapy for you. If medication might help, your OB, midwife, primary care doctor or a psychiatrist can assess that, and with your permission I can coordinate with them.

If you need help now: If you have thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, see or hear things others don’t, or feel confused, call 911 or go to an emergency room. For support any time, call or text the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-852-6262 (1-833-TLC-MAMA), or call or text 988.

What we might work on

• Sorting the baby blues from postpartum depression or anxiety, with a screening questionnaire at our first session
• Intrusive thoughts: why they happen, and how to stop fighting them
• A sleep plan that protects at least one longer stretch
• Identity: who you are now, and what you miss
• Your relationship with your partner, and how you divide the nights and the load
• Asking family for help, and setting limits on the help that isn’t helping
• Planning childcare and the return to work, when you’re ready

Short videos for new moms

Thirty seconds each, no sound needed. Tap play, or read the text on each video’s page.

How the Care Map Method™ shapes our sessions

The Care Map Method™ is the framework I use to organize our work, alongside a standard clinical assessment. It isn’t a separate tested treatment. It keeps four kinds of needs in view:

Then we work in four steps:

1. Map the emotion and trigger. We map a typical 24 hours: when anxiety or low mood peaks, and what’s happening around it, from feeds to visitors.
2. Match the need with a strategy. We name the need, such as sleep, reassurance, adult company or time alone, and pick one strategy that fits this stage.
3. Merge the strategy into daily life. We make it concrete: who takes which feed, what you’ll say to a visitor, when you’ll step outside.
4. Manage communication and responses. We rehearse the conversations with your partner or family, check in each session, and adjust as the baby changes.

Protect one stretch of sleep

If you have a partner or helper, split the night so each adult gets one protected block, for example 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. for one of you and 2 a.m. to 7 a.m. for the other. During your block, use earplugs or another room. Even one longer stretch can change how the next day feels.

How we’ll look at progress

We’ll choose markers that fit you, such as:

• your score on a standard postpartum screening questionnaire, repeated over time
• hours of protected sleep
• how often intrusive thoughts show up, and how much they bother you
• how connected you feel to your baby and your partner
• whether any time is yours

We check these every few sessions and change the plan if something isn’t helping. I can’t promise a particular result; we focus on what is in your hands.

Sessions, licenses and insurance

Sessions are online by video for adults who are physically located in California, New Jersey, Oregon or Maine during each session. Licenses: California LCSW #136364; New Jersey LCSW #44SC05528100; Oregon LCSW #L16530; Maine LCSW #LC26593.

Through Alma, I’m in network with Aetna, Cigna, Carelon, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, and Optum plans including UnitedHealthcare, Oscar and Oxford. Coverage depends on your specific plan, not only the insurance company’s name. Alma checks it before your first session, including any copay or deductible, and handles the billing. How using insurance works.

Check Insurance and Availability on Alma →

Questions people ask

Is it the baby blues or postpartum depression?

The baby blues, with tearfulness and mood swings, are common in the first days after birth and usually pass within a couple of weeks. When symptoms last longer, feel intense, or make it hard to function or care for yourself, it may be postpartum depression or anxiety, which are treatable. A clinician can help you tell the difference.

Can my baby be with me during sessions?

Yes. Feeding, rocking or a baby on your lap is fine. You just need a spot where you can talk freely.

I have scary thoughts about the baby. Can I talk about them?

Yes. Unwanted, intrusive thoughts are common among new parents, and talking about them is part of treating them. If you’re ever worried you might act on a thought, or you feel confused or out of touch with reality, that’s an emergency: call 911. In our first session I’ll explain how confidentiality works and its limits.

Can my partner join a session?

This is individual therapy for you. A partner sometimes joins a session with your agreement; ask before you book, since insurance may treat joint sessions differently.

Do you take my insurance?

I see clients through Alma, and through Alma I’m in network with Aetna, Cigna, Carelon, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, and Optum plans including UnitedHealthcare, Oscar and Oxford. Coverage still depends on your specific plan. Alma checks it before your first appointment, including any copay or deductible. Please share plan and health details through Alma’s secure intake, not by text or email.

Where do I need to be during sessions?

Sessions are online by video, and you need to be physically in California, New Jersey, Oregon or Maine during each one. Your insurance plan can come from another state; what matters for licensing is where you are during the session. Alma checks whether your plan covers sessions with me.

Sources and resources

• National Maternal Mental Health Hotline (HRSA)
• National Institute of Mental Health: Perinatal Depression
• Postpartum Support International
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

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