Perinatal & Postpartum Mental Health

Perinatal & Postpartum Counselling in BC

Becoming a parent is a big change. You don't have to carry it alone.

Pregnancy and the months after a baby arrives can bring joy, and they can also bring exhaustion, worry, guilt, grief, or a feeling that you don't recognize yourself. Many parents expect to feel happy all the time, so when the reality is more complicated, it can feel isolating.

It's not a sign that something is wrong with you as a parent. Perinatal mental health challenges are common, and they respond well to support.

At Psychotherapy Room, we offer warm, non-judgmental counselling for people during pregnancy, after birth or adoption, and after pregnancy or infant loss. Sessions are available in English and Portuguese, online across British Columbia and in person in Vancouver.

Who we support

  • Pregnant people experiencing anxiety, low mood, fear about birth, or a difficult pregnancy

  • New parents navigating postpartum depression, anxiety, OCD symptoms, or overwhelm

  • Birth trauma: emergency procedures, complications, NICU stays, or a birth that felt out of your control

  • Pregnancy and infant loss, including miscarriage, stillbirth, and the death of a baby

  • Partners who are struggling with the transition to parenthood

  • Newcomers and immigrants parenting far from family, community, and cultural traditions

  • Adoptive and foster parents adjusting to a new family

Culturally responsive care

Services in English and Portuguese

Postpartum often looks different when you are raising a baby in a new country. You may be missing the support of your mother, sisters, and friends. You may be navigating a health system in your second language. You may feel pressure from cultural expectations about what a "good mother" does, and those expectations may not match your reality here.

Our clinicians work in both English and Portuguese, and understand the emotional weight of migration and distance. You can say things in the language your heart speaks.

Meet Our Perinatal & Postpartum Counsellor

If you need urgent help

Psychotherapy Room is not an emergency service. Seek help immediately if you:

  • Have thoughts of harming yourself or your baby

  • Feel confused, see or hear things others don't, or feel very unlike yourself

  • Haven't slept for days and feel out of control

Call 911, go to your nearest emergency department, or call or text 9-8-8 (Suicide Crisis Helpline, available 24/7 across Canada). You can also call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 to be connected with health services.

These symptoms can be treated, and getting help quickly matters.

You don't have to wait until it gets worse. Reaching out is a sign of strength, not a failure.

Book an Initial Consultation

What is perinatal mental health?

"Perinatal" covers pregnancy and the first year or more after birth, adoption, or loss. During this time, you may experience:

  • Depression, low mood, or emptiness

  • Anxiety, constant worry, or racing thoughts

  • Unwanted intrusive thoughts about the baby's safety

  • Panic, irritability, or anger that feels out of proportion

  • Trouble sleeping even when the baby sleeps

  • Feeling disconnected from your baby, your partner, or yourself

  • Grief after miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant loss

  • Distress after a frightening or traumatic birth

  • Difficulty adjusting to a new identity, role, or relationship

If you recognize yourself in this list, you are far from alone. Roughly one in five new parents experiences a perinatal mood or anxiety difficulty.

How we work

Our approach is trauma-informed, anti-oppressive, and culturally responsive. That means:

  • No shame, no "shoulds." We don't measure you against an ideal of motherhood or parenthood.

  • Your pace. You decide what you share and when.

  • Your whole context. Sleep, relationships, culture, migration, finances, and family expectations all shape how the postpartum period feels, and we take them seriously.

  • Practical tools. Alongside a safe space to talk, we offer skills for anxiety, sleep, self-compassion, boundaries, and asking for help.

  • Collaboration. We encourage you to stay connected with your family doctor, midwife, or nurse practitioner, especially if you are considering medication or need a medical check-in.

What to expect in your first session

Your first session is a conversation, not an assessment you can fail. We'll talk about what brought you in, what your days look like right now, and what support you already have. Together we'll decide what would be most helpful. Many parents tell us the first relief comes from finally saying things out loud to someone who isn't judging.

Sessions are offered online from wherever you feel most comfortable, or in person at our Vancouver office.

  • Perinatal mental health refers to your emotional well-being during pregnancy and in the first year or more after birth, adoption or pregnancy loss. It includes depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, birth-related trauma, grief, and the adjustment to a new identity as a parent. These experiences are common and treatable.

  • The baby blues affect many new parents in the first days after birth, with tearfulness, irritability and mood swings that usually ease within about two weeks. Postpartum depression lasts longer or feels more intense. It can involve persistent low mood, loss of interest, exhaustion that sleep does not fix, feeling disconnected from your baby, or feeling like you are failing. It can start during pregnancy or at any point in the first year.

  • Yes. Postpartum anxiety often shows up as constant worry, racing thoughts, checking on the baby repeatedly, tension in the body, or being unable to sleep even when the baby is asleep. Some parents also have unwanted, frightening intrusive thoughts about the baby's safety. These thoughts are more common than most people realize, they do not mean you will act on them, and they respond well to support.

  • Birth trauma is an emotional response to a birth or pregnancy experience that felt frightening, out of control or unsafe, including emergency procedures, complications, NICU stays, or pregnancy and infant loss. Symptoms can include flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance and intense fear. Trauma-informed counselling can help you process what happened at your own pace.

  • Reach out if low mood, anxiety or overwhelm lasts more than two weeks, is getting worse, or affects your sleep, eating, bonding or daily life. You do not need to wait until things feel bad enough. If you have thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, feel confused, see or hear things others do not, or have not slept for days and feel unlike yourself, seek emergency care right away: call 911, go to the nearest emergency department, or call or text 9-8-8. Your family doctor, midwife or HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 can also help you find care.

  • Yes. Psychotherapy Room offers counselling in English and Portuguese, online across British Columbia and in person in Vancouver. Our approach is trauma-informed and culturally responsive, and we understand how migration, distance from family, language barriers and different cultural expectations about motherhood can shape the postpartum experience.

  • You can request a session through our online booking page. Registered Clinical Counsellor services are not covered by MSP, but many extended health benefit plans reimburse them, so check your plan for coverage details.