Motherhood nearly broke you. I'm here to help you rebuild...
Not back into who you were, but into who you’re becoming.
THERAPIST FOR MOMS L.A.
Motherhood isn’t a milestone. It’s a rebirth.
Motherhood isn’t a life transition. It’s a rebirth. And rebirths are not gentle.
There’s a version of you that had freedom of movement, freedom of thought and stretches of internal quiet. She knew how to orient herself in the world. She knew how to recover when she was tired. She knew who she was.
Motherhood doesn’t slowly reshape that version of you. It cracks you wide open.
What’s left is not a clean slate or an upgraded identity. It’s fragments. A sense that the old rules no longer apply, and no clear map for what comes next.
Therapy becomes one of the few places where grief for your pre-motherhood self -- the one with freedom, time and internal quiet -- is allowed to exist without being minimized.
This isn’t about getting back to who you were. It’s about becoming someone new without disappearing entirely in the process.
Motherhood is a gauntlet. And no one gets through it unscathed.
Why capable, high-functioning women feel like they’re bad moms
Many of the moms who seek out a therapist for moms in California were “good girls” long before they became mothers.
-
They were responsible early
-
They worked hard
-
They followed the rules and succeeded
Motherhood breaks that system:
-
There’s no gold star
-
No clear feedback loop
-
No point where you get to feel "done"
-
Exhaustion starts to feel like inadequacy
-
Depletion gets interpreted as failure
On the outside, you may look competent, organized and high-functioning.
On the inside, you’re barely keeping it together.
That disconnect isn’t a personal flaw. It’s what happens when perfectionism, people-pleasing and self-sufficiency collide with a role that demands more than one person can give.
The rewards of motherhood aren’t performance-based. They’re presence-based.
That's why women who've relied on external validation for their worth end up feeling like they’re failing and struggle to enjoy motherhood.
There’s nothing to achieve. And that's disorienting.
You're not failing motherhood. Motherhood failed you.
You were promised a village — but it never came.
You expected motherhood to be hard, sure. But not this lonely, this unsupported, this identity-shattering.
You were sold a version of motherhood filled with joy, meaning and “natural instincts.” Instead, you were handed a baby and expected to figure it out alone.
No rituals. No collective wisdom. No hands on your back guiding you from maiden to mother.
You’re told to bounce back, keep it together and cherish every moment, while running on three hours of sleep and microwaving cold coffee for the third time.
You are not "doing this wrong." This system wasn’t built for you — and it certainly wasn’t built to hold mothers.
We live in a society that praises the idea of family but offers no true infrastructure to support it.
When exhaustion isn’t a diagnosis. It’s an Unmet Need.
This work is about addressing root causes — sleep deprivation, isolation, impossible standards and an unsupported nervous system — not managing symptoms in isolation.
-
If you’re anxious while sleep-deprived, that makes sense.
-
If your nervous system feels fried while being “on call” around the clock, that makes sense.
-
If your mind never shuts off (tracking schedules, logistics, safety and needs) that makes sense.
When your body is exhausted, your mind is overloaded and your world has shrunk, nothing is “wrong” with you. Something is missing.
We slow down enough to figure out what that is — and what actually needs to change.
The mental load that never turns off
One of the most common experiences moms bring into therapy is the invisible mental load.
Your mind is always on. Running countdowns. Backtracking logistics. Holding responsibility even when someone else is physically present.
A common moment moms describe happens during nap time. Your child finally goes down, and instead of relief, your mind spins:
-
You could lie down and rest...your body desperately needs that
-
You could clean the kitchen...the mess is making you overstimulated
-
You could answer emails...falling behind feels intolerable
So you half-do a little of everything, fully rest in none of it and spend the entire time feeling like you’re making the wrong choice.
By the time your child wakes up, you’re still tired, nothing feels fully done — and now you’re frustrated with yourself, too.
How I work with California moms
Working with me as your therapist for moms in California is intentionally different.
First, the attention comes back to you. Instead of constantly orienting outward to everyone else’s needs, you’re met with steady, nonjudgmental presence and invited to reconnect with yourself.
Second, nothing you think or feel is too much here. Intrusive thoughts. Rage. Regret. Ambivalence. Guilt. Grief. Love. Relief. You don’t need to clean any of it up.
Motherhood has a lot of "what the F just happened to my life!?" moments. You don’t have to sanitize those here.
Third, this work is both practical and deep. Some sessions focus on real-world decisions — sleep, support and boundaries. Other sessions go inward — processing grief, identity loss and nervous-system overload.
We move at a pace your body can tolerate. This isn’t about fixing you. It’s about supporting your becoming.
When moms reach out for help
Moms often reach out at the moment they realize this isn’t just going to get easier on its own.
-
It’s not going to feel easier at four months because you can sleep train
-
It’s not going to feel easier at six months because you introduce solids
-
It’s not going to feel easier at nine months because your baby plays more independently
-
It’s not going to feel easier at twelve months because they’re walking
-
It’s not going to feel easier at eighteen months because separation anxiety fades
There’s a moment where you realize you can’t keep white-knuckling your way to the next milestone, hoping relief is one phase away.
The moms who reach out recognize something important:
I need support now — not later, not once things finally calm down, not once I’ve pushed through one more stage.
Therapist for moms in California
Hi there, I'm Natalie! Therapist and boy mom. 🩵
I work with moms during pregnancy, postpartum and the early years when the identity shift still has you reeling and the demands are relentless.
My holistic approach centers on systems and relationships — not isolated individuals. I don’t see mothers in a vacuum. I see them inside contexts that demand too much and give too little back.
I’m also a mother myself. I know the terrain...the sleep deprivation, the mental load, the days that blur together and the grief no one prepares you for.
To meet you where you're at, I provide both online therapy throughout California and in-person intensives in Los Angeles for those seeking deeper, immersive support.
You can show up exactly as you are: breastfeeding, contact-napping, exhausted or unsure. There’s no performance required here.
