Pregnancy & Postpartum Therapy in Winston-Salem, NC | Online Therapy Across North Carolina
Therapy for Expecting and New Moms
What you can get out of online pregnancy therapy in North Carolina
You’ve been looking forward to this day for years. You’ve been trying to get pregnant, and it's finally here. You’re getting ready to step into the next chapter of your life. Even though this is likely a welcomed change, preparing for a baby can feel overwhelming, resulting in increased anxiety, low mood, and general ups and downs in mood. Pregnancy and the perinatal period can bring joy, but they can also bring unexpected stress, fear, and emotional challenges. You’re feeling not like yourself and not sure what to do.
My clients are often expecting or new moms who are feeling overwhelmed and anxious about motherhood. My “mama clients” and I often work on:
Anxiety and fears - You are struggling with worries about the health and well-being of your child.
Mixed Feelings - You may be experiencing mixed feelings about becoming a mom at all and the upcoming shift in identity.
Loss of Identity - You wanted a baby for so long but are struggling with the identity shift.
Overwhelmed - You may feel that being a mom is harder than expected.
Emotional Exhaustion - You feel completely drained from the stress of motherhood. You feel burned out.
Mental Load - You find yourself carrying most of the unpaid domestic and childcare labor of the home. You struggle to find time for yourself and feel burned out.
I provide online pregnancy therapy, prenatal therapy, and postpartum mental health support in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and across the state of North Carolina. Rooted in the Triad, I often work with mothers who are located in Winston-Salem, Greensboro, High-Point, and the surrounding rural areas, including Clemmons, Kernersville, King, Mount Airy, Boone, Lexington, and Elkin. I often work with mothers who are navigating services at Novant Health and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
As a clinical health psychologist with over a decade of clinical experience, I help women and their partners who are struggling with pregnancy anxiety, prenatal depression, postpartum depression, intrusive thoughts, and the emotional transition into parenthood. I am licensed to provide therapy throughout the state of North Carolina, and I enjoy helping women and their partners navigate the emotional complexities of pregnancy, birth preparation, and early parenthood with compassion and evidence-based care. Tranquil Talk Therapy often uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Narrative Therapy, Solution Focused Therapy, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) incorporated into our online counseling sessions. You don’t have to sacrifice quality online pregnancy counseling for convenience. You can have both.
Anxiety and Depression Therapy for Pregnant Women in North Carolina
Pregnancy can be a wonderful blessing, but it can also be accompanied by feelings of stress, depression, and anxiety. You may feel worried about how you are going to care for another person. Or, perhaps, you might be worried about the changes in your body. You may also be worried about how this will shift your relationship with your partner, family, and friends. Pregnancy is a time of big change for you mentally and physically; and, it is a transition for all women. However, some women experience more intense feelings of depression and anxiety during pregnancy. Even though this is relatively common, many women are afraid to talk about their anxiety and depression during pregnancy.
Signs you may need therapy while pregnant:
Constant worry about the baby’s health
Difficulty sleeping due to racing thoughts
Irritability or mood swings
Feeling tearful or numb
Loss of interest in things you used to enjoy
Physical tension or restlessness
Guilt about not feeling “grateful enough”
Feeling lonely
Feelings of hopelessness
Thoughts of suicide
Roughly a quarter of women will experience anxiety while pregnant and nearly a tenth of women will experience depression while pregnant (Clay, 2016). Finding a supportive place to talk about these thoughts and fears can be helpful. We can’t always change the hard, but we can change the alone. At Tranquil Talk Therapy, I try to increase access to anxiety and depression therapy by providing convenient online scheduling and virtual appointments. As a provider who is in-network with insurance, I am committed to helping you use your insurance benefits and receive affordable and receive high quality therapy while pregnant.
Postpartum Depression Therapy in the Triad
The postpartum period can bring intense emotional and hormonal changes. Many women experience symptoms that go beyond the “baby blues,” including persistent sadness, excessive worry, panic attacks, irritability, or difficulty bonding with their baby. If you are feeling this way, please know that you’re not alone. Around 1 in 7 women (APA, 2022) will experience symptoms of postpartum depression.
Signs you may need depression therapy after having a baby:
Persistently low mood
Feeling overwhelmed and hopeless
Frequent crying
Loss of interest in usual activities
Changes in appetite
Changes in sleep
Feeling unlike yourself
Withdrawing from friends and family
Thoughts of hurting yourself or your child
If you every find yourself asking, “Am I depressed during postpartum?” Then, please reach out to a licensed therapist. We all need support from time-to-time. Working with a licensed therapist can help determine if you’re experiencing symptoms of depression or anxiety.
I am a licensed therapist who provides online virtual appointments, with most new clients being scheduled within a week of requesting an appointment. I am independently licensed, have established individual contracts with insurance companies, and I do not partner with online virtual therapy companies or use AI in my business. I am a real life mama who gets the baby phase is hard. I am comfortable with you bringing your baby to therapy appointments. I get it. Finding childcare is hard and expensive. I’ll work with you to schedule our meetings during naptime or while the baby is awake. The most important thing is you have access to online depression therapy when you need it.
Postpartum Anxiety Therapy in North Carolina
For many new moms, postpartum depression may present alongside anxiety. As a new parent, you may find yourself experiencing intrusive thoughts about your baby’s safety and wellbeing. These thoughts may make you check on your child more frequently while sleeping, worry about their healthy, and make you struggle to relax. These negative thoughts may make it challenging for you to leave the house, take care of yourself, and your baby. If you are feeling this way, please know that you are not alone. Around 20 percent of women will experience postpartum anxiety (Favril, 2025).
Signs you may need postpartum anxiety therapy:
Constant worry
Intrusive thoughts
Irritability
A sense of dread
A deep sense of dread
Postpartum anxiety is common and treatable. It is important to find a licensed therapist who focuses on supporting moms with postpartum anxiety. I am a licensed psychological associate who works with new moms. I get it. Being a new mom is hard. As a real life mama and clinician, I understand the challenges women face navigating postpartum. I provide online therapy to new moms who are experiencing postpartum anxiety. As an in-network provider to most major insurance plans, I will help you receive fast, affordable, and high quality postpartum anxiety therapy.
Pregnancy Therapy FAQs
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The prenatal stage is more than medical appointments and nursery planning. It is also a major developmental transition. Your brain, body, relationships, and sense of self are all adjusting.
Prenatal therapy provides a safe, confidential space to:
Reduce anxiety and intrusive thoughts
Stabilize mood changes
Process grief, trauma, or previous loss
Prepare emotionally for childbirth and postpartum
Strengthen coping skills before your baby arrives
Provide support along the journey
Identify your support system
Create realistic expectations about motherhood
Caring for your mental health during the prenatal period is not selfish — it is foundational. Research shows that supporting maternal mental health during pregnancy benefits both mother and baby.
You do not have to wait until postpartum to seek support. Early intervention during pregnancy can make the transition into motherhood feel steadier, more grounded, and more supported.
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Having a baby is a big identity shift for partners too. Even though our partners may not be growing the child, they are also preparing for a big life-transition and are often pressured into stepping more into the provider role and be encouraged to engage in more caregiving work in the home. It’s common for our partners to feel unprepared for this transition.
Your partner should reach out to a therapist if they are experiencing the following symptoms:
Seem overwhelmed or shutdown
Irritable
Emotionally distant
Financial anxiety
Fear of labor complications
Health anxiety
Change in sleep
Changes in communication
History of anxiety or depression
Increased use of unhealthy coping strategies
Struggling with identity shift
You’re worried about them
As a clinical health psychologist with over a decade of experience, I’ve worked with many partners who are preparing for the birth of their first child. Working with a prenatal therapist, we can strengthen coping skills, improve communication, establish realistic expectations, and identify a plan to navigate this upcoming life transition.
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Yes, insurance covers pregnancy support. I am in-network with Aetna, Meritain Health, BCBS, Aetna State Health Plan, and Medcost. All email inquires will be responded to within 24-hours and appointments are often scheduled within 1-2 weeks.
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I get it. Being pregnant is full of uncertainty. If you’re a first time mom, then you’ve never been through this experience before, and you don’t know what to expect. That lack of knowledge can increase your anxiety. I recommend all expecting moms to read some evidence based books to prepare for the birth of their child. Although there are so many books out there to prepare for the baby, I recommend all new moms read the following books:
Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom is Wrong and What You Really Need to Know by Emily Oster
Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool by Emily Oster
Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy by Myra Wick
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Postpartum depression (PPD) is more common than many people realize — and it often doesn’t look the way people expect. Many parents think it means “crying all day” or “not loving your baby,” but it can show up in much quieter or more internal ways.
Women with postpartum depression may feel:
Tearful
Overwhelmed
Irritable
Feeling empty
Feeling like a bad parent
Intrusive thoughts and catastrophic thinking
Exhaustion
Difficulty sleeping
Withdrawn from others
Avoiding caring for the baby
Feeling shut down
Feel like you’re doing everything right but “empty”
Difficulty relaxing
Resentful
Feeling like you’ve lost yourself after becoming a parent
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If you start experiencing symptoms of:
Thoughts of hurting yourself
Thoughts of hurting your child
Feeling like your family would be better off without you
Hearing of seeing things others don’t
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Postpartum anxiety is a mental health condition that can develop after having a baby. While many people are familiar with postpartum depression, anxiety after childbirth is actually just as common — and sometimes even more intense.
It goes beyond normal new-parent worry. Postpartum anxiety feels persistent, intrusive, and hard to control.
Symptoms of postpartum anxiety:
Constant worry about the baby’s health or safety
Racing thoughts that won’t slow down
Feeling “on edge” all the time
Trouble sleeping — even when the baby sleeps
A sense of dread that something bad is about to happen
Replaying “what if” scenarios repeatedly
You might look calm on the outside but feel like your nervous system is in overdrive internally.
Postpartum anxiety may present both physically and emotionally as:
Excessive or uncontrollable worry
Intrusive thoughts (often about harm coming to the baby)
Irritability
Difficulty concentrating
Feeling mentally restless
Racing heart
Tight chest
Shortness of breath
Nausea
Dizziness
Muscle tension
Speaking with a therapist can help you develop tools to better manage your anxiety.
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There are many reasons why you might want to seek therapy during pregnancy and the perinatal period.
The most common reasons are listed as followed:
Anxiety during pregnancy
Panic attacks while pregnant
Fear of labor or childbirth
High-risk pregnancy stress
Previous miscarriage or pregnancy loss
Trauma related to prior birth
Relationship strain during pregnancy
Depression during pregnancy
Feeling emotionally disconnected or overwhelmed
Difficulty adjusting to becoming a parent
Experiencing symptoms of postpartum depression and/or anxiety.
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Postpartum mental health conditions are highly treatable with evidence-based therapy. Treatment may include:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for postpartum depression and anxiety
Treatment for intrusive thoughts and postpartum OCD
Trauma-informed therapy for birth trauma
Support for maternal identity transitions
Coping strategies for sleep deprivation and overwhelm
Mindfulness-based stress reduction
Relationship and communication support
Therapy provides a confidential space to reduce anxiety, stabilize mood, rebuild confidence, and strengthen emotional connection.
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Many insurance plans provide coverage for outpatient mental health therapy, including treatment for anxiety and depression during pregnancy and postpartum. I am currently in-network with Aetna, Aetna State Health Plan, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Meritain Health, and MedCost. Your specific benefits and out-of-pocket costs will depend on your insurance plan.
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Yes! A thousand times, yes! In my experience, most new moms report feeling frustrated at their husband following the birth of a child. Around 67% of couples (Shapiro, Gottman, & Carrere, 2000) report relationship dissatisfaction following the birth of a child. There are several factors that likely contribute to this, including increased mental load (having to plan for everything), increased unpaid labor in the home, decreased sleep, and not being on the same page with parenting styles. All of this impacts our mood and overall mental health.
Although we feel guilty to say it, most moms feel frustrated that their husbands don’t equally help with the upkeep of the home and caring for a new baby. Of course, there are some husbands who are amazing at helping in the home, however, on average, most women report this as a frustration within their marriage. Following the birth of a child, the average woman will inherit roughly 20+ of unpaid childcare duties in a given week. In contrast, men tend to take on less than an hour of unpaid labor per day (Yavorsky, 2015). This is a source of frustration for many new moms following the birth of a child, especially if you are also participating in the paid labor force.
I always tell my clients that you can’t be a “trad wife” unless you have a “trad husband.” Meaning, if you are participating in part to full time labor outside the home, then there’s no way that you can do all the unpaid labor at home and participate in the workforce. Even if you are a stay-at-home mom, you deserve time off, breaks, and time to be yourself. No person can be a caregiver 100% of the time. For our own mental health, we have to find a way to distribute the work in a way that feels fair and everyone has access to some leisure time. All of this to say, we need to have some serious conversations with our partners about how to divide the household and childcare labor.
Tranquil Talk Therapy provides online therapy to new moms who are feeling resentful at their husbands following having a baby. Together, we will explore your current childcare and domestic role in the home and determine what would feel more fair to you. We will identify ways to calmly and kindly talk to our spouse about our concerns, with the overall goal of reducing feelings of overwhelm and increasing access to leisure time for self-care.
Postpartum Therapy FAQs
Why Choose Tranquil Talk Therapy for pregnancy and postpartum support?
I get it. Choosing a therapist can be intimidating. In today’s market, we are oversaturated with advertisements from online therapy platforms, with many of their therapists having limited clinical experience.
I am a licensed therapist with over a decade of direct clinical experience. I am not a new graduate who is straight out of school, and I’m also not a clinician who has just entered the field following another career. I am a psychologist with thousands of direct clinical hours and have taken numerous courses to work with moms.
I am also a real life mom who gets it. Being a mom is hard work, and learning to navigate these transitions can be challenging. Having someone who just “gets it” can sometimes be nice. In our work, you’ll have a non-judgmental space to talk about your concerns with someone who gets it.
At Tranquil Talk Therapy, I am also in-network with several insurances, including Aetna, Aetna State Health Plan, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Meritain Health, and Medcost. I will personally look at your benefits and file the claims, ensuring you can use your health insurance. At Tranquil Talk Therapy, I do not partner with online virtual therapy platforms, billing groups, or use AI note taking in my practice, resulting in an increased layer of confidentiality.
You don’t have to do this alone. Support during pregnancy and postpartum is not a luxury — it is necessary care for you and your baby. If you want to see if we are a good fit, please reach out. I respond to all emails within 24-hours and try to schedule clients within the week. If we meet and determine that we aren’t a good match, I will refer you to one of my amazing colleagues who can help you. Reach out today to finally get the support you deserve.