Birth trauma can happen during pregnancy, labour, birth or the early postnatal period. It may be linked to a frightening or overwhelming birth experience, emergency intervention, feeling unheard or out of control, breastfeeding trauma, a baby’s neonatal stay, hyperemesis gravidarum, pregnancy complications, medical procedures, separation from your baby, or feeling that you or your baby were not safe.

You may feel anxious, numb, angry, guilty, detached, hypervigilant or unable to stop replaying what happened. You might avoid reminders of the experience, feel distressed when talking about it, struggle with medical appointments, breastfeeding, intimacy, bonding, sleep, or feel frightened about another pregnancy or birth.

[Read more about birth trauma therapy]

Fear of childbirth can affect people before a first pregnancy, during pregnancy, after a traumatic birth, or when considering another baby. You may feel panicky, trapped, overwhelmed by uncertainty, or unable to imagine going through pregnancy or birth.

[Read more about therapy for fear of childbirth]

Postnatal depression can affect how you feel about yourself, your baby, your relationships and your ability to cope day to day. It may involve low mood, tearfulness, irritability, guilt, shame, emotional numbness, loss of confidence, exhaustion, anxiety, feeling disconnected, or a sense that you are not enjoying motherhood in the way you expected.

For some parents, postnatal depression is linked to a difficult pregnancy, birth trauma, feeding difficulties, sleep deprivation, loss of identity, relationship stress, lack of support, previous trauma, or the pressure to appear as though you are coping.

Therapy can help you understand what is keeping the depression going and gently rebuild connection, confidence and emotional safety. I often draw on Compassion Focused Therapy, alongside practical CBT strategies such as behavioural activation, routine-building, reducing self-criticism, problem-solving and identifying small, manageable steps towards recovery.

Perinatal OCD can involve distressing intrusive thoughts, images or urges, often around harm, contamination, responsibility or safety. These thoughts can feel frightening and shameful, even when they go against your values and the kind of parent you want to be.

I also work with teenagers experiencing anxiety, phobias, trauma symptoms and emotional difficulties. Therapy with young people is adapted to their age, developmental stage and confidence in talking about emotions.

[Read more about therapy for teenagers]

Phobias can make everyday life feel restricted, even when part of you knows the fear may be disproportionate. I work with specific phobias using CBT, graded exposure and, where appropriate, EMDR.

Trauma can affect your body, mood, relationships, sleep, confidence and sense of safety. You may experience flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance, emotional numbness, irritability, shame, guilt or a feeling that you are still living in survival mode.

Pregnancy loss, fertility treatment, traumatic scans, medical complications, termination for medical reasons, or difficult reproductive experiences can have a lasting emotional impact. Therapy can offer space to process grief, trauma, guilt, anger, uncertainty and fear about the future.

Medical trauma can develop after frightening, painful, invalidating or overwhelming healthcare experiences. You may find yourself avoiding appointments, feeling panicky in medical settings, replaying what happened, or feeling mistrustful, ashamed or unsafe in your body.

Anxiety and panic can show up as overthinking, avoidance, physical symptoms, fear of losing control, perfectionism, people-pleasing, reassurance-seeking or feeling constantly on edge. CBT can help you understand what keeps the anxiety going and practise new ways of responding.