Reproductive and Maternal Mental Health Counseling in California
Virtual therapy for reproductive and maternal mental health — serving clients throughout California. In-person therapy for those local to Encinitas and North County San Diego.
Navigating the reproductive journey can be joyful, uncertain, or deeply painful — sometimes all at once. Whether you’re trying to conceive, currently pregnant, postpartum, or grieving a loss, these experiences often carry emotional challenges that are invisible to others but heavy to hold alone.
Reproductive and maternal mental health therapy is a specialized area of care that addresses the unique emotional needs associated with fertility struggles, pregnancy, postpartum adjustment, miscarriage, and infant loss. These experiences can lead to complex feelings — from anxiety, sadness, and guilt to identity confusion or even trauma responses. Therapy offers a safe and validating space to process your emotions, build resilience, and find meaningful ways forward. If you need some help deciding whether or not therapy might be helpful, download this brief checklist to help you make a decision.
This season of life can feel lonely. You don’t have to face it in isolation. This practice is committed to supporting women and families across the full spectrum of reproductive experiences.
Infertility & Reproductive Counseling
The road to parenthood isn’t always linear. Infertility can bring grief, shame, anger, and intense relational strain. Therapy helps individuals and couples process these emotions and make empowered decisions about family planning paths. You’re not alone in this experience — and you don’t have to carry it silently.
Common Concerns:
- Grieving the monthly cycle of hope and disappointment
- Coping with feelings of guilt, shame, or anger toward your body
- Managing relationship strain and communication
- Navigating IVF, IUI, or donor options
- Dealing with isolation and lack of understanding
How therapy can help:
- Offer emotional space to process grief and uncertainty
- Reconnect with your partner and reframe shared goals
- Build emotional resilience for ongoing treatment journeys
Therapy during Pregnancy & Prenatal Emotional Health
Pregnancy is often filled with emotional highs and lows. If you’re feeling anxious, overwhelmed, or not as connected to your pregnancy as expected, you’re not alone. Therapy can help you feel grounded during uncertainty and change.
Common challenges:
- Managing anxiety about birth, health, or parenting
- Coping with emotional shifts or mood swings
- Processing high-risk pregnancy concerns
- Addressing feelings of disconnection or overwhelm
- Setting realistic expectations around pregnancy and postpartum
Therapeutic support includes:
- Mindfulness-based tools for managing intense or intrusive thoughts
- Skills and techniques for regulating emotions and anxiety
- Space to explore identity changes and set realistic expectations
Postpartum Depression & Anxiety Counseling and Maternal Mental Health
The postpartum period brings enormous change. While “baby blues” are common, persistent sadness, rage, anxiety, or disconnection may be signs of postpartum mood disorders. You are not failing — you’re adjusting. Therapy supports emotional regulation, relationship adjustment, and self-reconnection.
Help for new parents who are experiencing:
- Persistent sadness, anxiety, or emotional numbness
- Guilt or shame about not feeling connected to baby
- Increased anger, irritability, or identity confusion
- Overwhelm with daily tasks or transitions
- Optional postpartum support group for added connection
What postpartum therapy offers:
- A nonjudgmental space to speak honestly about your feelings
- Support for regulating sleep, emotions, and thought spirals
- Tools for reconnecting with yourself and your baby
- Optional support group for shared experience and validation
Grief & Miscarriage Therapy
Miscarriage and pregnancy loss are deeply personal and often misunderstood. You may feel a wave of emotions: sadness, guilt, confusion, anger, and longing. In therapy, we create space to honor your loss, tell your story, and process both the emotional and physical impact. Your grief is real, and it deserves care and compassion.
Support for clients navigating:
- Grieving miscarriage, chemical pregnancy, or stillbirth
- Managing guilt, confusion, or sadness
- Discussing future family planning after loss
- Feeling misunderstood or unsupported
- Creating space to honor your experience
Therapy can help you:
- Honor your experience and the significance of your loss
- Understand and normalize grief patterns and trauma responses
- Rebuild trust in your body, relationships or decision-making
- Move forward while still holding space for what was lost
Why Work with a Perinatal Mental Health-Certified Therapist?
Dr. Amanda Freeman, PhD, PMH-C, offers a unique blend of specialized knowledge and compassionate care to support individuals and families navigating the emotional challenges of reproductive and maternal health. As a certified perinatal mental health professional, Dr. Freeman brings years of experience and a deep understanding of the psychological and emotional complexities that can arise during fertility struggles, pregnancy, postpartum, and loss. Choosing to work with a perinatal mental health specialist ensures that you are not only receiving effective, evidence-based treatment, but that your emotional well-being is prioritized in a way that truly understands the nuanced needs of this critical time in your life. Therapy with Dr. Freeman offers a safe, supportive space where your experiences are validated, your feelings are respected, and you can begin to heal with professional guidance tailored specifically to your journey. Below are a list of her certifications and affiliations:
- Certified PMH-C (Perinatal Mental Health Certification) – Postpartum Support International
- Member of Postpartum Health Alliance (and previously served as Training Chair on the PHA Board)
- Fertility Counseling Postgraduate Course (FCPC) – a 10 month postgraduate program in fertility counseling with Sharon Covington, MSW and Dr. Linda Applegarth, EdD
- Member of American Society of Reproductive Medicine
- Member of San Diego Psychological Association
- Member of EMDR International Association
Online Therapy Available Throughout California or In Person in Encinitas
Receive high-quality care from the comfort of your home — from San Diego to San Francisco. Flexible, secure, and personalized for your needs.