Birth Counselling and Natal Hypno-Psychotherapy

Are you pregnant or just given birth?
Feeling stressed, anxious or depressed?
Do you have concerns around getting pregnant and motherhood?
Are you experiencing distressing emotional or physical symptoms related to pregnancy and childbirth?

Birth counselling/Hypno-psychotherapy/CBT can help

What is Persephone Birth Counselling/Hypno-psychotherapy?

Birth counselling/Natal Hypno-Psychotherapy at Persephone is the use of supportive counselling, psychotherapy and hypnotherapy (Hypno-psychotherapy) to help women resolve or release pre-natal and post-natal issues and emotions.

Pregnancy is a time of joyful anticipation and wonder heralding a new identity and life stage for a woman. This time can however also bring up stresses, anxieties and distressing feelings.

Birth Counselling and Natal Hypno-psychotherapy can be helpful in many of these cases including:

Pregnancy and pre-natal concerns:

• To help release fears, anxieties or concerns around getting pregnant
• To help release and resolve painful feelings around a prior miscarriage
• To help resolve unexpected emotions during pregnancy: stress, anxiety and pre-natal depression: feelings of failure or overwhelm, fears about responsibility for a newborn and ability to cope and conflicting feelings about motherhood.
• Stress reduction
• To help eliminate morning sickness
• To help eliminate some other unpleasant sensations during pregnancy such as heartburn, backache, insomnia
• To help you stop smoking prior to or during a pregnancy
• To enhance effectiveness of a necessary medical procedure
• To help turn a breech baby

See research on the effectiveness of hypnosis in:

eliminating morning sickness
turning a breech baby

Post-natal concerns:

• To process and resolve feelings around a previous traumatic, disappointing or exhausting childbirth experience
• Undue anxiety, stress or concerns around caring for a newborn
• In the event of a slow physical, mental or psycho-emotional recovery from a birth experience
• Unexpected or unpleasant emotions following childbirth: sadness, disappointment, guilt, anger, frustration, feeling overwhelmed.
• Difficulty adjusting to lifestyle and psycho-emotional changes following childbirth
• Post-natal depression
• Anxiety
• Depression

To discuss your situation and see if Birth Counselling or Natal Hypno-psychotherapy can help you: Contact Persephone for your FREE consultation 

About Post-natal and pre-natal Depression

Post-natal depression and anxiety/depression

Post-natal depression affects about 1 in 7 women and may be due to stress caused by physical, hormonal and social changes following childbirth, a negative or traumatic experience of childbirth and  high social expectations and beliefs about maternity. Whilst childbirth can be a joyous, magical, even spiritual experience for women, many women's experience of pregnancy and childbirth may be different - even disappointing or traumatic - and may leave a new mum feeling conflicted, disappointed, isolated, guilty or that there's something wrong with her and that she's failed as a new mum. Many women also experience anxiety or overwhelm. It is most likely to develop within the first 5 weeks after birth and women suffering post-natal or post-partum have an increased risk with subsequent births. (Read the spirituality of birth)

Post-natal depression may be triggered, in part, by:

• Feelings around a traumatic, disappointing or exhausting childbirth experience
• Undue anxiety, stress or concerns around caring for a newborn
• Unexpected or unpleasant emotions following childbirth: sadness, disappointment, guilt, anger, frustration, feeling overwhelmed.
• Difficulty adjusting to lifestyle and psycho-emotional changes following childbirth

Pre-natal depression

Whilst there is increased awareness of the problem of post-natal depression there is also a growing awareness of the problem of pre-natal depression. It is thought that 10-20% of women suffer from pre-natal depression and  in a study assessing mood and pregnancy the "highest point" for depressed feelings was in fact at before the birth - at 32 weeks - rather than 8 weeks after birth. pre-natal depression may therefore go unnoticed due to a lack of awareness and assessment. Symptoms include sadness, anxiety and panic. Those women considered most vulnerable are those who have inadequate support during pregnancy. It is possible that there may also be a vulnerability to extremes of hormonal changes for women due to genetic factors thought there is some considerable disagreement as to whether vulnerability to stress/anxiety/depression is due to genetic or environmental factors - previous stressful experiences, adverse childhood upbringing, trauma etc.

Treatment for depression

Treatment for depression may involve either CBT/counselling or medication or a combination of both. Studies show that both medication and CBT/counselling are effective, and advice on post-natal depression treatment by the Royal College of Psychiatrists states this. A major review on post-natal depression treatments, the Cochrane Review, reviewing the evidence on effectiveness and safety of anti-depressants and CBT found that CBT was just as effective as medication (without the risk of side effects), and stated more research is currently needed to assess adverse effects of anti-depressants. Therefore there some women  may prefer to choose the CBT/counselling option, in liaison with their GP or primary care provider. CBT/counselling can be used alongside medication.

NB: this information should not be used as medical advice. If you think you are suffering from depression you should see your GP or primary care provider for medical assessment and to discuss possible treatment options.

Read this excellent, informative Article: Depression, Anti-depressants and Alternative Treatments for Depression 

Read scientific research comparing the effectiveness of St John's Wort for depression  with anti-depressants

Read Article on How emotional experience determines your health

Read more about depression