Maternal Mental Health
Doing fine on paper.
Most of the women I see are doing fine on paper. They're also crying in the car at 2 p.m. and not telling anyone — and that gap, between the paper and the car, is where we start.
Twenty years of perinatal-specific clinical work. Licensed PA + NJ. PhD.
“If you had an easy problem, you would have figured it out already. Family problems are not easy, and no person is an expert at everything. You don't have to figure this out alone.”
— Dr. Jenny Starosta, PhD
What I see in the work.
What I see most often in this work:
Pre-conception and fertility
A negative test on a Tuesday morning, every Tuesday morning, for a year. Loss without a script. The grief that doesn't get a casserole. Infertility, miscarriage, recurrent loss, fetal loss — all of it, named clinically and held seriously.
Pregnancy and birth
Antepartum anxiety. The intrusive thought you haven't said out loud. A first delivery that left a mark on the second pregnancy. EMDR for birth trauma is a real thing, and it works.
Postpartum and beyond
Postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, the identity shift no one warned you would feel like a small bereavement. Sleep-deprived executive function. Marriage strain that nobody is to blame for. The years after the baby is no longer a baby — those count too.
What sessions look like.
Fifty minutes, weekly to start, in person at the Conshohocken office or by secure telehealth across PA and NJ. Three modalities anchor the work: CBT for the loops, EMDR for what hasn't metabolized, EFT for what sits underneath.
The pace is yours. The tools are real. There is no formula, because there is no formula mother.
Why a specialist matters here.
As a clinician I notice when an intrusive postpartum thought is being misread as a personality flaw. As a mother I noticed it first.
A generalist therapist may hear "I'm just tired" and take it at face value. A perinatal specialist hears "I'm just tired" and asks five more questions, because the answer underneath that sentence is often the actual one. The specialty is not a marketing word. It's the difference between recognizing something and missing it.
Where do we begin?
The first appointment is fifteen minutes, and it's free. No paperwork, no diagnosis. Just enough time to see whether this is a fit.
- 15 min
The first call
The first 15 minutes is on me. No commitment, no diagnosis. Just enough time to see whether this is a fit.
- intake
If we're a fit, the consult turns into intake
If we're a fit, the consult turns into intake. If we're not, I'll point you toward who can help.
- 50 min
The first session
Fifty minutes, in person at the Conshohocken office or by secure telehealth across PA and NJ. We start where you are, not where the intake form put you.
- weekly
Cadence in practice
Weekly to start, sometimes every other week once the work has its footing. Out-of-network self-pay. Fees are discussed in the call. Monthly superbills go out for clients submitting for reimbursement.
- first month
After the first month
By the fourth or fifth session, the room has a shape. What I notice tends to settle. What changes tends to be smaller and steadier than people expect.
Most first calls are scheduled within the same week — no insurance-referral chain to wait through.
If after the 15 minutes it's not a fit, that's a real outcome, not a failure. The whole point of the call is to find out.
Most mothers in this work tried to push through alone first. That's not a failure either. It's where almost everyone starts.
The practical part.
- Fees
- Out-of-network self-pay. Fees are discussed during the first call.
- Superbill
- A monthly superbill is provided automatically for clients submitting for out-of-network reimbursement.
- Availability
- Same-week appointments are usually available.
- Telehealth
- HIPAA-compliant and available throughout PA and NJ.
The gap between paper and car widens with time.
Fifteen minutes is enough to start.
The first appointment is fifteen minutes and doesn't cost anything. We see if the work fits.
Book a free 15-min call