"Clients tell me they finally feel safe saying the things they've been too afraid to speak out loud. That's exactly the space I'm here to create."
— Cheryl Reeley, LCSW-S, PMH-C
Pregnancy and new motherhood are supposed to be joyful. But for many women, they're also when anxiety shows up loudest — relentless worry, panic, and a mind that won't quiet down no matter how hard you try. This isn't weakness. It's perinatal anxiety. And it responds incredibly well to the right support.
Perinatal anxiety is anxiety that develops during pregnancy or in the postpartum period — and it's far more common than most people realize. Up to 20% of pregnant and postpartum women experience clinically significant anxiety, yet it's often dismissed, minimized, or mistaken for normal new parent nerves.
The difference between everyday worry and perinatal anxiety isn't about the size of your concerns — it's about whether the anxiety is taking over your life. When you can't sleep even when your baby is sleeping. When your mind won't stop rehearsing worst-case scenarios. When a simple outing feels impossible because something might go wrong.
If that sounds familiar, you're not failing at motherhood. You're dealing with a real, recognized condition — and it's very treatable.
You don't have to earn the right to struggle. If anxiety is getting in the way of your life — even a little — that's enough reason to reach out.
No two women experience perinatal anxiety the same way. Here are the most common patterns I work with:
Constant worry about miscarriage, birth complications, or whether your baby is developing normally. Googling symptoms at 3am. Counting kicks obsessively. Dreading every appointment.
After the baby arrives, the worry doesn't stop — it just changes shape. Racing thoughts, inability to sleep even when exhausted, feeling like something terrible is always about to happen.
Hypervigilance about every sound, movement, or feeding. Checking that baby is breathing constantly. Fear that you'll miss something that turns out to be serious.
A persistent, almost superstitious sense of dread — like something is wrong even when everything is fine. Difficulty being present because your mind is always scanning for danger.
Sudden waves of intense fear with physical symptoms — racing heart, chest tightness, shortness of breath, dizziness. Sometimes with a clear trigger, sometimes completely out of nowhere.
Perinatal anxiety and postpartum depression often co-occur. You might feel both wired and depleted at once — wound tight with worry but too exhausted to do anything about it.
Before reaching out, most of my clients have been carrying these thoughts for a while. Do any of these sound like you?
Perinatal anxiety doesn't care how much you wanted this baby or how good your life looks on paper. It's not a character flaw or a sign you're ungrateful. It's a clinical condition with identifiable causes — and it's not your fault.
So many women white-knuckle through perinatal anxiety alone because they're afraid of being labeled "unstable" or having their baby taken away. Therapy is a confidential space where you can say everything out loud — and nothing bad happens when you do.
If anxiety is disrupting your sleep, your relationships, your ability to enjoy pregnancy or early motherhood — it's bad enough. You don't have to be in crisis to deserve support.
Willpower is not the treatment for perinatal anxiety. Neither is telling yourself to relax. What actually works is evidence-based therapy with someone who understands exactly what's happening in your nervous system during this season of life.
"Clients tell me they finally feel safe saying the things they've been too afraid to speak out loud. That's exactly the space I'm here to create."
— Cheryl Reeley, LCSW-S, PMH-C
I know starting therapy can feel like a big step. Here's exactly what happens when you reach out.
We start with a no-pressure phone call. You tell me a little about what's going on, I answer your questions, and we both decide if we're a good fit. No forms, no commitment — just a real conversation.
We go deeper — your history, your symptoms, what's been tried before, and what you want your life to feel like. I don't use a one-size-fits-all intake form. I actually listen. By the end, we'll have a clear picture of where you are and where you want to go.
We'll use approaches that are evidence-based for perinatal anxiety — CBT, mindfulness, and where relevant, ERP — but always adapted to your specific experience, your schedule, and what's actually realistic for your life right now.
Clients often notice a difference within a few sessions — not because I have a magic wand, but because perinatal anxiety responds so well to the right kind of support. The goal isn't just symptom management. It's helping you feel like yourself again.
I use approaches that have strong research support for perinatal anxiety — but the relationship always comes first. You'll never feel like you're being run through a protocol.
CBT helps you identify the thought patterns that are fueling your anxiety and learn to respond to them differently. It's practical, skills-based, and one of the most well-researched treatments for anxiety that exists.
Rather than fighting anxious thoughts, mindfulness teaches you to relate to them differently — observing without being consumed. Especially helpful for the relentless "what-if" spiral that perinatal anxiety loves.
For anxiety that includes avoidance behaviors or compulsive checking, ERP gently helps you face fears without the rituals that keep anxiety alive. Particularly effective when anxiety and OCD overlap.
A lot of therapists treat "general anxiety." But perinatal anxiety is its own thing — it's shaped by hormonal changes, the identity shift of becoming a mother, fears about a completely new and vulnerable little person, and often a lack of sleep that would make anyone feel unhinged.
Working with a therapist who understands all of that context — not just the anxiety — means we skip months of explanation and get straight to what actually helps.
Normal worry is manageable — it comes and goes, and you can set it aside when you need to. Perinatal anxiety is more persistent and more intrusive. It disrupts sleep even when you're exhausted, makes it hard to be present, and often feels impossible to control even when you know logically that everything is probably fine. If your anxiety is affecting your daily functioning, relationships, or enjoyment of this season of life, it's worth talking to someone — regardless of whether it "counts" as clinical anxiety.
Yes — though they can and often do overlap. Postpartum depression is characterized by persistent low mood, sadness, disconnection, and low energy. Perinatal anxiety is characterized by excessive worry, fear, physical tension, and hypervigilance. Some women experience both at once — feeling depleted and flat while also running on a constant undercurrent of dread. Both are real, both deserve treatment, and both respond well to therapy.
Not necessarily. Many women make significant progress with therapy alone — especially with evidence-based approaches like CBT and mindfulness. That said, medication can be a helpful part of treatment for some women, and there are options that are considered safe during pregnancy and breastfeeding. I'm a therapist, not a prescriber, so if medication feels like something to explore, I'll coordinate with your OB or refer you to a perinatal psychiatrist. We'll figure out what's right for you.
Please don't wait. Starting therapy during pregnancy is actually ideal — it means you have support and tools in place before the postpartum period, which is often when anxiety peaks. Many of my clients start during the second trimester when anxiety about the pregnancy has settled in and they realize it's not going away on its own.
It varies, but most clients see meaningful improvement within 8–12 sessions. Perinatal anxiety tends to respond well to focused, structured therapy — which is one of the reasons I love working with it. Some clients continue beyond that for deeper work; others feel ready to graduate after a few months. We'll check in regularly about your progress and adjust as we go.
For Texas clients, I accept BCBS and UnitedHealthcare, in addition to self-pay. For clients in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, and Ohio, I am self-pay only. I provide a superbill after each session so you can submit for out-of-network reimbursement — many PPO plans cover 50–80% of costs. Payment is accepted via credit card, HSA, and FSA.
A free 15-minute consultation is the first step. No paperwork, no pressure — just a conversation about what you're going through and how I can help.
