Therapy for Postpartum Psychiatric Disorders

Get matched with a therapist for a postpartum psychiatric disorder 

Pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum recovery can feel like a roller coaster of emotions. If you’ve recently given birth and are experiencing significant difficulties with your mental health, you might have a postpartum psychiatric disorder. We’re here to help and support you during this wild time. Get matched with an Ellie therapist who can help with postpartum depression and more.   

Are you struggling with your mental health after childbirth? 

The weeks and months after delivering a baby can be very difficult for new mothers, and a majority of women notice changes in their mood during the postpartum period. Adjusting to poor sleeping conditions, physical pain, hormonal fluctuations, and possible trauma from childbirth can take a heavy toll on mothers. And while many women will go through a period of increased sadness, anxiety, or irritability called the “baby blues,” some women will go on to develop a postpartum psychiatric disorder. 

Postpartum psychiatric disorders can have a serious impact on the well-being of the mother and baby. You might struggle to take care of yourself and your baby, struggle with thoughts of suicide, struggle to eat and sleep, feel incredibly anxious, or experience psychosis. There are several mental health disorders that can affect women who’ve recently delivered a baby:

• Postpartum depression: PPD causes symptoms of major depressive disorder, difficulties bonding with your baby, social withdrawal, feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness, thoughts of self-harm or suicide 
• Postpartum anxiety: You may experience heart palpitations and physical anxiety symptoms, extreme fear about your baby’s safety, difficulties leaving home or trusting others with your child
• Birth trauma: An emotionally traumatic childbirth can cause symptoms of PTSD, such as hypervigilance, flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance behaviors, and panic. 
• symptoms of PTSD from a traumatic birth experience, flashbacks 
• Postpartum psychosis: A severe postpartum condition that can cause delusions, mania, hallucinations, and mood instability

The goals of therapy for postpartum psychiatric disorders

No new mother wants to struggle with her mental health, and it can be incredibly difficult to adjust to being a new mother while struggling with a psychiatric disorder. Fortunately, therapy and psychiatric intervention can be very effective in helping you process what you’re feeling, recover, and enjoy these new precious moments with your new baby. Here’s how your Ellie therapist can help: 

• Evaluate your symptoms and determine if you’re showing signs and symptoms of a postpartum psychiatric disorder
• Give you a safe place to vent, decompress, and express the challenges of being a new mother or coping with a traumatic birth 
• Discuss if medication could be beneficial for addressing symptoms of depression, anxiety, psychosis, and more
• Help you build a support group and get help from others to support your healing during this time
• Explore how other factors in your life, such as a difficult relationship or pre-existing conditions, might be affecting your mental health 

Let’s work through your postpartum psychiatric disorders together

Ellie Mental Health can help you with your mental health through every phase of your parenting journey: including pregnancy, the postpartum period, and beyond. Postpartum psychiatric disorders are very common, and we urge soon-to-be or new moms to be aware of their mental health after birth and to reach out if they’re struggling.