Finding a Therapist Who Specializes Postpartum Depression

As someone who lived with depression and anxiety prior to trying to conceive and during my pregnancy, I had already spent years with my trustworthy therapist. We'd done so much work spanning childhood trauma, chronic illness, and infertility, and I absolutely felt confident during my pregnancy that I was in the best place I could be in mentally.

Continuing with therapy postpartum

When postpartum depression showed up shortly after having my daughter, I reached out to my therapist to schedule some time to talk. However, after a few sessions, I was struggling with something I hadn't experienced before – therapy wasn't seeming to be effective.

I spent some time reflecting. Was it me? Was I giving it all that I could? Was I being as open and honest about my challenges and concerns, and was I asking for suggestions, tips and advice on how to deal with my feelings?

In reality, the answer to all of those questions was yes. I was showing up the best I could. What was the problem then?

I needed a therapist specializing in PPD

My trusty therapist was no longer the best fit for this challenge at hand.

One day, I asked her point blank if she had any referrals for therapists that specialized in postpartum depression or anxiety. She gave me 2 different options, but unfortunately, neither of them were taking new patients at the time. I felt trapped.

Looking for a new therapist online

My feelings were so heavy and consuming, and my days were dictated by this tiny little girl who needed me around the clock. How was I supposed to find a new therapist that both specialized in what I needed and was available to begin working with my ASAP?

I began looking at Psychology Today, a reputable search engine that allows you to filter your results by location, insurance provider, issue/specialty, age/gender, etc. And I found quite a few options in my area – 10 pages of search results to be specific.

I didn't feel like, at the time, I had the mental capacity to reach out to multiple providers and conduct interviews with them to see if they'd be a good fit. I did adjust my search to make it more specific (entering my zip code rather than just my city, choosing a gender and an age of provider) which reduced my results a bit. This would've been a good jumping off place if I didn't have any other resources.

Another postpartum therapist directory

A friend of mine suggested searching on Postpartum Support International, a perinatal mental health provider directory. So, I looked there next.

This search engine allowed me to put postpartum depression in the topic box, followed by my address, and gave me a few pages of search results (5) listed in order of closest to furthest away. The first thing I noticed was that there were a few therapists that overlapped in both search engines, and these were the ones I started with.

Screening therapists and finding the right fit

After reading their "about me" sections on both websites along with the types of therapy they practice, I reached out to 3 providers. I heard back from all three, and spoke to each of them on the phone for 10-15 minutes to get a sense of how we vibed.

Today, I'm incredibly grateful and lucky to say I found a provider that has changed my life. She helped me through my postpartum season, and then later she supported me in unpacking some things that were still affecting me, such as infertility and the impact on intimacy with my husband.

The support I needed during postpartum depression

In retrospect, I think my battle with postpartum depression would've been a lot harder and would've lingered for a lot longer had I not found a therapist not only specializing in it, but one that was such a good fit with what I needed in that season.

If you've struggled with postpartum depression, I hope you've been able to find a therapist to support you, too.