Nurture Therapy, LLC

May 1st marks World Maternal Mental Health Day, which draws attention and awareness to essential mental health concerns impacting mothers and their families. Without such acknowledgment there is a risk that these individuals struggles would go unnoticed beneath the surface of societal expectations and the inclination to remain silent.

Nurturing Mental Wellness: A Perinatal Therapist's Reflection on Maternal Mental Health Day — Nurture Therapy On World Maternal Mental Health Day, let's raise awareness of the challenges mothers face, dismantle stigma, and advocate for accessible support. With increased attention and resources, we can prioritize women’s mental well-being, ensuring no mother suffers in silence. Perinatal therapists stand r...

Today is . These are the faces of the clinicians who work with our pregnant and postpartum parents. Behind each of these clinicians is a caseload of clients suffering and healing from depression, anxiety, loss, reproductive challenges, trauma, infertility, and family planning concerns. And for all of those we do see in the practice, there are even more that do not ever get the help that they need and deserve.

As many as 1 in 5 new mothers experience some type of perinatal mental health disorder.

These illnesses frequently go unnoticed and untreated, often with tragic and long-term consequences to both mother and child.

We raise awareness of maternal mental health so that fewer will suffer in silence and we treat because these symptoms are curable.

We cannot deny the influence of current policies, environments, and social injustices, which make our role in treatment and healing that much more complex.

We Need World Maternal Mental Health Day to
-Raise awareness
-Influence policy
-Change attitudes

Thank you to our wonderful team for all that you do today and everyday.

~Nurture Therapy

To wrap up IWD, let's talk about strong mothers. We have a deep misconception that a strong mom must do it all. She must be superwoman... taking care of the kids, the house, the husband, the dog; never asking for help, dare not complaining and looking good while she's trying to balance it all. The sheer act of asking for help, may leave her feeling like she can't do it. The offer of help may leave her feeling both thankful and defeated at the same time.

We need to change this false perception of motherhood. We need to let go of perfectionist tendencies. Strong moms ask for help! Whether it's a partner, family member, neighbor or mental professional, we all need help sometimes. No one can do it alone!

So in honor of IWD and the strength you have, REPEAT AFTER ME:
▫️"I worthy of accepting help."
▫️"Acknowledging that I need help is a strength, not a weakness."
▫️It is not shameful or needy to receive help from others."
▫️" I am capable of doing it all, but I don’t have to do it all."

Happy International Women's Day and help a strong mom in your life today! ~ Nurture Therapy

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY!

International Women's Day celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women globally. Today also highlights a call to action for gender equality. Women are not paid equally to their male counterparts; women are not present in equal numbers in business or politics-- in 2015, there were more CEOs named John than female CEOs-- the maternal mortality rate in the US is higher than any other developed country; and globally women's education, health and safety is far worse than that of men. These disparities disproportionately impact women of color and the transgender community.

Today, we want to acknowledge the people and organizations that work on behalf of gender equality. Nurture Therapy specializes in women's mental health. We treat women. We support women. We believe in women. We are women. And we recognized that women change the world! In the face of struggle and inequality, there will always be individuals (usually women) that resist and rally for social justice and change. We stand with women! 👩🏻‍🤝‍👩🏿👩🏼‍🤝‍👩🏾👭🏽👩🏿‍🤝‍👩🏻

~Nurture Therapy | 📸 cred: Canva

This is based on a real conversation with a friend of mine, (also a working mom). We discussed that after kids Fridays nights change... Gone are the Saturday mornings when you could sleep in. Spontaneous nights out don't exist when you have to secure a babysitter weeks in advance. Fridays might as well be Tuesdays!

I try to keep weekends special, either by planning fun family activities, not following our usual routine or doing something different for dinner. Last week, I made a picnic on our living floor!

How do you make your weekends special after kids? ~Nurture Therapy

Why nurture?
As with many good ideas, the name Nurture Therapy was conceived at brunch with friends. A name for if, and when, I started a group therapy practice. The name sat with me for almost a year before anything came of it.

During this time, I became a mother myself and grew my business. I opened a second office location and hired five additional psychotherapists to join the practice. I was also raising a sweet, sassy baby girl. It felt like it was time to make a change to reflect our growing group practice. So after practicing under my name (Jamie Kreiter Therapy) for several years, I renamed my practice Nurture Therapy; a practice that specializes in maternal mental health and here is why... Nurture is how I think about my work as a therapist. In the therapy room, there is space to nurture a mother. To remind her that nurture can be a reciprocal process. Nurturing and allowing oneself to be nurtured reflects motherhood, particularly early motherhood.

Maternal mental health is important and continues to be overlooked. It's difficult to get a new mom to come in for therapy. She may feel shame or stigma. She may be too overwhelmed, too tired, or too busy to consider her own needs, let alone therapy. If our name implies that nurturing can be reciprocal then maybe, just maybe, it will give these mothers the strength and energy to walk into our front door.

So, we proudly introduce to your Nurture Therapy, LLC. We hope that you take this journey of nurturing and healing with us. We encourage you to explore what nurture means to you—both how you give nurture and how you receive nurture. In turn, we commit to treating, healing and nurturing. Read the full post on our blog!
~Nurture Therapy