Maternal Mental Health & Postpartum Therapy
Seattle and online across Washington
Compassionate support for pregnancy, postpartum, and the emotional challenges that can accompany this season.
Iris Hogan, MSW, LICSW
When You Don’t Feel Like Yourself Anymore
Motherhood can be meaningful, beautiful, disorienting, exhausting, and emotionally overwhelming - sometimes all at once.
You may love your baby deeply and still feel unlike yourself.
You may look like you're coping on the outside while internally feeling anxious, emotionally stretched thin, disconnected, or overwhelmed in ways you didn't expect.
Therapy can offer a steady, compassionate place to process anxiety, birth trauma, and postpartum overwhelm - a place to feel more supported through the many transitions that come with motherhood.
Why This Season Can Feel So Hard
Motherhood is often idealized, but the reality is complex.
Your body changes. Your identity shifts. Your relationships adjust. Even loving, supportive relationships can feel strained under exhaustion, stress, shifting roles, and the emotional weight of this season.
Many women quietly feel lonely, unseen, resentful, or disconnected in ways they never expected.
Your body and mind are adjusting to a lot. Your sleep may be disrupted. Your hormones fluctuate. Your responsibilities multiply.
And if you've experienced trauma, loss, or a difficult birth, what happened may continue to affect you long after the experience itself is over.
This is not a personal failure. It's your body and mind responding to an overwhelming season.
I offer maternal mental health therapy in Seattle and online postpartum therapy across Washington, so you can access support from home - even in the most demanding seasons.
Therapy offers a place where you don’t have to keep holding everything together
Together, we may work toward:
- understanding your emotional and physical responses
- processing difficult or traumatic experiences
- reducing anxiety and overwhelm
- rebuilding self-trust and self-compassion
- finding more steadiness when emotions feel intense
- adjusting to the changes that come with parenthood
We work together to find a pace that feels manageable and supportive.
When Motherhood Feels Different Than You Expected
Pregnancy, postpartum, and early motherhood can shift how you experience yourself, your body, and your life.
Many women quietly grieve parts of the life they once had - even while deeply loving their baby.
You may miss:
your independence
feeling clear-headed or in control
the version of yourself that once felt steady and capable
freedom, flexibility, or space to breathe
You may find yourself worrying about:
career or professional changes
how motherhood is affecting your identity
why this season feels harder than you expected
whether you'll ever fully feel like yourself again
Many women have a hard time saying these things out loud, but these experiences are far more common than most people realize.
For women who are used to pushing through and functioning well under pressure, this season can feel especially disorienting.
Therapy can help you make sense of what you're carrying with more compassion, steadiness, and support for your nervous system.
Why this work matters so deeply to me
I've lived through how vulnerable and overwhelming the perinatal season can be.
After a long and complicated birth, my son was transferred by emergency helicopter to a children's hospital just six hours after he was born. He spent the next 12 days in the NICU, followed by ongoing medical challenges and difficulties with feeding and nursing.
It was one of the most intense seasons of my life. I know personally what it is like for birth, fear, uncertainty, and caring for a medically vulnerable baby to become part of the beginning of motherhood.
That experience also taught me how much it can matter to have support—and how difficult it can be to extend compassion to yourself when you're simply trying to get through what is happening.
My personal experience is not the same as anyone else's, but it is part of what drew me to this work and continues to shape the care I bring to women navigating difficult reproductive and maternal experiences.
Therapy That Starts With What You Need
You don't need to come to therapy knowing exactly what the problem is or what you need to work on.
We work with whatever you are struggling with. That might be difficult emotions, the transition to motherhood, your relationship with yourself, attachment or bonding, or changes in your relationships with the people you love. If birth trauma, reproductive loss, or another difficult experience is part of what brings you in, there is room for that, too.
Depending on what you need, I may draw from:
- perinatal CBT strategies
- interpersonal and attachment-informed approaches
- mindfulness and grounding
- compassion-focused therapy
- EMDR therapy or EMDR Intensives when appropriate
My approach is collaborative and individualized. We'll decide together what we work on and what seems most useful to you. When trauma, overwhelm, or dissociation is part of the picture, we pay particular attention to pacing.
You don't need to have everything figured out before you start. We can figure that out together.
Pregnancy and postpartum can intensify anxiety - even for women who have never struggled with it before.
Online Therapy for women in Seattle & across Washington
Online therapy can make support easier to access, especially during demanding seasons of life.
You don’t need to wait until things feel unbearable to reach out
A free 15-minute consultation is a simple place to start - a chance to talk through what's been feeling heavy and explore what support might feel like.
Birth Trauma & Difficult Reproductive Experiences
Even when things look “fine” from the outside, difficult reproductive experiences can continue to affect you long after they are over.
- a frightening or unexpected birth
- medical trauma
- NICU experiences
- fertility challenges
- miscarriage or pregnancy loss
- traumatic reproductive procedures
You may feel on edge, disconnected, ashamed, confused, overwhelmed, or numb. Reactions can look very different from one woman to another.
I offer online therapy for birth and reproductive trauma for women in Seattle and across Washington. Depending on what you need, our work may include EMDR as one way of working with difficult or traumatic experiences.
Learn more about Trauma Therapy for Women
Anxiety in Pregnancy & Postpartum
Pregnancy and postpartum can intensify anxiety—even for women who have never struggled with it before.
You might notice:
- racing thoughts
- intrusive worries
- difficulty sleeping
- feeling overstimulated
- fear of something happening to the baby
- pressure to “do everything right”
These experiences are common, and therapy can help you understand what's happening and find ways to work with the anxiety.
I offer online therapy for pregnancy and postpartum anxiety for women in Seattle and across Washington.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if what I'm feeling is "normal" postpartum?
You don't have to decide whether what you're experiencing is “normal” before reaching out. If you're feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, anxious, or unlike yourself, we can talk about what's happening and whether therapy might be helpful.
Is this postpartum depression or postpartum anxiety?
Depression and anxiety can overlap during pregnancy and postpartum, and experiences vary widely. You don't need to know exactly what to call what you're experiencing before reaching out. We can start with what you're noticing and how it's affecting you.
What if I'm afraid to say what I'm thinking?
Intrusive thoughts can occur during pregnancy and postpartum, and they can feel frightening or deeply upsetting. Having an unwanted intrusive thought is not the same as wanting or intending to act on it. Therapy can be a place to talk openly about what you're experiencing without judgment.
Can therapy help with birth trauma even if the birth looked "fine" on paper?
Yes. A birth doesn't have to look traumatic from the outside for it to have been frightening, overwhelming, or deeply distressing to you. Therapy can help you work with difficult memories, emotions, and reactions that continue after the birth. EMDR may be one approach we consider when appropriate.
What if I don't feel bonded with my baby?
Bonding doesn't always happen immediately. For some women, connection develops gradually, particularly after a difficult pregnancy or birth, NICU experience, depression, anxiety, exhaustion, or other stress. Therapy can give you a place to talk honestly about what you're experiencing without assuming that something is wrong with you or your relationship with your baby.
Can we meet online?
Yes. I offer online maternal mental health therapy for women located in Washington at the time of their session. For many women, meeting from home can make therapy easier to fit into pregnancy, postpartum, and the demands of motherhood.
What if I'm not sure what I need?
You don't have to know before reaching out. A free 15-minute consultation gives us a chance to briefly talk about what brings you to therapy, answer questions, and see whether working together might be a good fit.
Reaching Out
You don't have to navigate this season alone.
A free 15-minute consultation is a simple way to talk through what you're experiencing and see whether this support feels like the right fit.
A brief, no-pressure conversation to talk through what's been feeling overwhelming and what kind of support might feel most helpful.