Anxiety and ocd therapy in california, michigan & louisiana
Specialized Therapy for Women Going Through Pregnancy and Postpartum
During pregnancy or postpartum, your mind can feel like it never slows down, making it hard to feel present or enjoy the moments you expected to.
Can you relate?
Scary, unwanted, or “taboo” intrusive thoughts (harm-related, sexual, violent) that feel confusing and frightening.
Compulsive behaviors or mental rituals, like checking, researching, replaying, or seeking reassurance in order to feel certain your baby is safe or that you’re a “good parent.”
Relentless anxiety about making the “right” choices for feeding, sleep, or routines, leaving you stuck in guilt, worry, and overwhelm.
Constant doubt about your instincts or memories, spiraling into “What if something goes wrong?”
Feeling emotionally flooded (anxious, numb, detached, overstimulated), wondering why this season feels so much harder than you expected.
Persistent sadness, irritability, or hopelessness that makes bonding, daily tasks, or finding joy feel out of reach. why this season feels so much harder than you expected.
Why Perinatal Mental Health is Helpful:
During pregnancy and postpartum, your mind and body go through enormous changes — and when anxiety, OCD, or depression take hold, it can feel impossible to trust your instincts, stay grounded, or feel connected to yourself or your baby. That’s why working with a therapist who specializes in perinatal mental health makes such a difference. You don’t have to navigate intrusive thoughts, overwhelm, or emotional shifts alone.
General talk therapy can certainly be supportive, but when it comes to perinatal anxiety or OCD, it can sometimes unintentionally increase worry by offering reassurance, over-analyzing symptoms, or encouraging you to “figure out” your thoughts. Specialized perinatal treatment understands the unique biology, fears, hormones, identity changes, and stressors that show up during this season — and provides tools that actually break the cycles.
In therapy, we create a deeply safe, non-judgmental space to talk about intrusive thoughts, fears, sadness, irritability, guilt, or overwhelm — including the thoughts you’re scared to say out loud. Using evidence-based approaches like CBT, ERP (when helpful for perinatal OCD), ACT, and compassion-focused strategies, we work together to reduce anxiety, interrupt compulsive patterns, support mood, and help you feel more confident navigating the uncertainties of pregnancy and postpartum. We also integrate your support system when appropriate, offering guidance for partners and loved ones.
By working with a clinician who specializes in perinatal mental health in California or Michigan, you receive structured support, tools that truly help, and a space where your experiences are understood. Together, we help you feel more grounded, capable, connected, and supported — so you can move through this season with more clarity and ease.
Specialized Support for Mothers
Through becoming a new mom, my passion for supporting mothers during pregnancy and postpartum has deepened immensely. I hold a Perinatal Mental Health Certification (PMH‑C) from Postpartum Support International, a credential that signifies specialized training in identifying and treating perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, including postpartum depression, anxiety, and perinatal OCD. This certification ensures she provides evidence-based, compassionate care tailored to the unique challenges of the perinatal period. In addition to this certification, I am specialized in OCD, allowing me to provide highly informed, effective treatment for intrusive thoughts, compulsive behaviors, and high-anxiety presentations during pregnancy and postpartum
Kaylee Bullen, Perinatal Mental Health Certification (PMH-C)
Perinatal Mental Health FAQs
-
Postpartum anxiety often includes constant worry, physical tension, racing thoughts, and difficulty resting. Postpartum OCD typically shows up as intrusive thoughts or mental images about the baby’s safety, along with repetitive checking or reassurance-seeking. These symptoms are common in perinatal mental health and are highly treatable with the right support.
-
Intrusive thoughts in the postpartum period are extremely common. They become a sign of postpartum OCD when they are frequent, distressing, or lead you to avoid certain activities or perform rituals to “prevent” harm. If intrusive thoughts feel overwhelming or interfere with daily life, a perinatal mental health specialist can help you understand and treat them.
-
The most effective treatments include evidence-based therapy such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and exposure and response prevention (ERP) for postpartum OCD. Treatment may also include medication prescribed by a medical provider. A perinatal-trained therapist can help reduce intrusive thoughts, anxiety, and depressive symptoms while supporting you through the unique challenges of early motherhood.
-
Everyone experiences unwanted thoughts sometimes. OCD makes these thoughts feel more intense, scary and/or “sticky”, leading people struggling with OCD to engage in compulsions to try to “fix,” “figure out” or “fight” them.
