Navigating motherhood without a mother of your own can be a painful, challenging experience. Being a mum is hard enough. We weren’t designed to have babies alone. We need to be supported practically and emotionally by our communities. If, for whatever reason, your community doesn’t include your own mum, it can have a profound effect […]
Navigating Motherhood Without a Mother – A Therapist’s Perspective Read More »
Struggling with the pressure to enjoy every minute of motherhood can make you feel like a bad mum. But where does that pressure come from and why do some of us find it so challenging? More importantly, what can we do about it? Comparison and The Pressure to Enjoy Every Minute of Motherhood Perhaps you’ve
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Am I Going to Screw Up My Kids? In my clinical work, I meet many parents who fear ‘screwing up’ their kids. If you had a particularly difficult or traumatic early life yourself, you’re more likely to worry about repeating the same negative cycles with your own children. This can stem from a desire to
Am I Going to Screw Up My Kids? – A Therapist’s Perspective Read More »
Up until fairly recently, the general consensus was that only the birthing person could experience perinatal mental illness. We now know partners can struggle with their mental health too. Although it’s important to include same-sex couples and other family types in this conversation, today I want to focus on dads. Postnatal Depression in Dads Not
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As parents, we have a great deal of influence over our children. We shape their lives through the care we give and by modelling beliefs and behaviours, just as our lives were shaped by the people who cared for us. If we look at our own upbringing, we can probably identify certain traits our parents
What it Means to be a Generational Cycle Breaker Read More »
At this time of year, there is a lot of pressure, particularly on mums, to create the perfect Christmas. Where does this pressure come from? I think social media is a big factor. Mums tend to spend quite a bit of time on online where it’s easy to be influenced by the things we see.
3 Ways to Manage Perfectionism at Christmas Read More »
My ethos around working with mothers is about holding space for them, their feelings and their needs so they can feel emotionally supported. Why? Because I firmly believe mothers need mothering. The Toughest Job Although there are moments of joy, pride and happiness, being a mother is an incredibly difficult job. Alongside all the good
Why Mothers Need Mothering Read More »
‘Mum guilt’, the name given to the feelings of guilt women experience in relation to their children, is a phrase I think most of us are familiar with. For those of us who are mothers, it’s probably something we’ve experienced ourselves. Maybe we’ve felt bad for going out with friends or spending a night away
Mum Guilt – What to Do When You Feel Like a Bad Mum Read More »
What is Mum Rage? The term ‘mum rage’ refers to unrestrained, inexplicable anger many mothers experience during pregnancy, postpartum and even years later. Rage differs from anger, resentment or irritation in that it tends to feel uncontrollable and explosive. These intense feelings can blindside the mother, leaving them with little time to even attempt to
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Our inner child is the child part of us that carries all the pain we felt from not having our core needs met in childhood. To a certain degree, you could say we all have an inner child. However, people who were let down more often as children will tend to have a very strong
The Inner Child Explained Read More »