A nod to dads this father’s day. Did you know dads have postpartum depression and anxiety, trauma from witnessing birth experiences, and hormonal changes in the perinatal period, staring in pregnancy? Do you know that talking about this brings up comments like “man up”! If you think that’s gross, here are some brief reflections on the importance of dads.

As therapists with a passion and focus on the psychological impacts of pregnancy, birth, the postpartum period, and the parenting experience at large, we get a lot of referrals from people who have had a descent therapy experience, but felt their therapist didn’t understand the intricacies and enormity of all of the above.

While therapy may be the last thing a pregnant or postpartum person wants to do (hello, there are so many other tasks at hand!), therapy has been shown to be helpful and protective during this tender, vulnerable time. Here are some of the top reasons people come to therapy in this phase of life.