Understanding Perinatal & Postpartum Mental Health
The journey of parenthood is one of the most profound transitions a person can experience. While often painted with a brush of universal joy, the reality for many is a complex mix of emotions, physical shifts, and mental health challenges. Most people recognize that "the village" starts with a supported parent. We provide specialized care to help you navigate the unique psychological landscape of pregnancy and the first year of parenthood.
What is Perinatal Mental Health Treatment?
Perinatal mental health refers to the emotional and psychological well-being of individuals during pregnancy (prenatal) and the first year following childbirth (postpartum). Treatment in this field is specifically designed to address Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs).
Unlike general therapy, perinatal-focused treatment accounts for the massive hormonal shifts, sleep deprivation, and identity changes that accompany new parenthood. It is not just about "feeling better"; it is about fostering a healthy parent-child bond and ensuring the long-term wellness of the entire family.
What Are Some Common Symptoms & Red Flags?
It is important to remember that perinatal and postpartum mental health conditions are more than just a few days of sadness. While the "baby blues" typically resolve within two weeks, conditions like Postpartum Depression (PPD), Anxiety (PPA), and OCD can be more persistent and intense. It typically starts within 4-6 weeks of giving birth or even while pregnant, but can persist for 3 years (Rita Rubin, MA, Jama).
1 Emotional & Mood Symptoms
Postpartum Anger: Feeling an unexpected anger or reacting at partners over small things.
Guilt: An internal emotional state telling you that you are a "bad parent" or that your baby deserves better.
Emotional Numbness: Feeling little emotion, or disconnected, as if you are watching your life.
Severe Mood Swings: Shifting from high energy or anxiety to deep sadness and exhaustion.
Psychosis: Having delusional beliefs that are unshakable, or hearing and seeing things that others cannot.
2 Cognitive & Physical Symptoms
Intrusive Thoughts: Scary, repetitive, or graphic mental images of harm coming to the baby.
Hypervigilance: An inability to "turn off" the brain, even when the baby is safely asleep and cared for.
Executive Dysfunction: Finding it nearly impossible to make simple decisions, like what to eat.
Postpartum Insomnia: Being physically exhausted but unable to fall asleep when given the chance.
3 Social & Behavioral Red Flags
Withdrawal: Avoiding phone calls and isolating yourself from people who care, or feeling alone and as if no one cares.
Difficulty Bonding: Feeling a lack of connection your child, which often leads to further cycles of shame.
Loss of Interest: Finding no joy in hobbies or activities you previously loved.
Take the First Step:
Perinatal mental health challenges are the most common complication of childbirth, but they are also highly treatable. You do not have to pretend or painfully struggle through this. Mental health care isn't one-size-fits-all. Introspect Mental Health provides accessible therapy for families in St. Paul, White Bear Lake, and Cambridge, MN. For some, our outdoor nature-based therapy can help ease the cabin fever of new parenthood or virtual sessions that fit into your baby’s nap schedule, our localized approach ensures you receive care that understands our community needs.
Finding a provider who understands the specific nuances of maternal and paternal mental health is vital. We’re lucky to have Chloe Kieser, MS, LPC treating perinatal needs, neurodiversity, and the mind-body connection. She provides in office, virtual and outdoor sessions in Cambridge, MN.
Chloe’s approach is rooted in Person-Centered Care, utilizing evidence-based frameworks like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and CBT to challenge intrusive thoughts and help parents reconnect with their bodies after birth.
Common Questions about Art Therapy
Art therapy and it’s benefits to mental health
What is Art Therapy?
Art therapy is an integrative mental health profession that enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities through active art-making, creative process, applied psychological theory, and human experience within a psychotherapeutic relationship. Put simply: it uses the creative process of making art to improve a person’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
Our Art Therapist is Emily Wright, MS Provisional Registered Art Therapist (ATR-P)" and "Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-230).
How does art therapy work?
1.Bypasses the Language Barrier
When we experience stress, depression, or trauma, those feelings are often stored as sensory fragments or raw emotions, not as coherent sentences. The language centers of the brain (typically in the left hemisphere) can struggle to translate these intense feelings into words.
Art therapy activates the brain's sensory and emotional processing centers (often associated with the right hemisphere). This allows a person to express exactly how they feel using colors, shapes, and textures, effectively bypassing the need to find the "right words."
2.Kinesthetic Regulation/ Somatic Regulation
The physical act of making art directly impacts the autonomic nervous system.
Soothing: Repetitive motions, like coloring, knitting, or molding soft clay, can lower heart rates, reduce cortisol (the stress hormone), and calm an overactive nervous system.
Releasing: More resistant materials, like thick paints or hard clay, can help clients safely release pent-up anger or frustration through physical effort.
3.Do I have to be good at art?
Absolutely not. You do not need an ounce of artistic skill, talent, or previous experience to benefit from art therapy. Art therapy is meant to engage in the above benefits, not being amazing at it!
4.Art Therapy Focuses on Process Over Product
In an art therapy session, the golden rule is "process over product."
Your therapist is not an art critic or an art teacher. They are not grading your technique, looking at your proportions, or caring if you can only draw stick figures. Instead, they are looking at how you create.
Here is what an art therapist actually pays attention to:
Your physical state: Are you gripping the marker so hard your knuckles are white? Are your shoulders tense, or did you visibly relax while blending the colors?
Your choices: Did you choose a massive piece of paper or a tiny one? Did you immediately reach for dark, heavy paints, or soft, light pastels?
The feeling: How did it feel to rip the paper? What emotion came up when you scribbled violently across the page?
You might spend an entire session just tearing up pieces of cardboard and gluing them into a messy pile, or smearing finger paint on a canvas. If that process helped you release frustration or externalize a chaotic feeling you couldn't put into words, then the art therapy worked perfectly—no matter what the final piece looks like.
Art Therapy with Emily Wright, ATR-P
What does ATR-P stand for, and what does it mean?
ATR-P stands for Provisional Registered Art Therapist. This credential is granted by the Art Therapy Credentials Board (ATCB). It means that Emily has successfully completed an advanced, graduate-level education in art therapy (her Master of Science) and is currently practicing art therapy under the supervision of an approved, fully credentialed art therapist. This ensures she meets rigorous educational and ethical standards in her practice.
What is an art therapist?
An art therapist is a mental health professional who combines psychological theory with the creative process of art-making to help individuals improve their emotional, mental, and physical well-being. Unlike traditional talk therapy, art therapy allows clients to express feelings, thoughts, and trauma in a nonverbal way.
Do I need to be good at art to benefit from art therapy?
Absolutely not. You do not need any prior artistic experience or skill to benefit from art therapy. The focus is entirely on the process of creating and the self-exploration it brings, rather than the final artistic product. It provides a safe way to externalize internal struggles when finding the right words is difficult.
What types of materials will we use in a session?
Sessions can involve a variety of artistic activities depending on what feels right for you. This might include drawing, painting, working with clay, scribbling or creating collages. Art therapists are trained to understand how different materials affect you psychologically and will tailor interventions to meet your unique needs.
What ages does Emily work with?
Emily works with teenagers (ages 14 and up) and adults. Art therapy is particularly effective for adolescents navigating anxiety, depression, or life transitions, as it offers a supportive alternative to traditional talk therapy.
Can I do art therapy virtually?
Yes. Emily offers secure telehealth (virtual) sessions for clients across Minnesota, in addition to in-person sessions at the White Bear Lake hub.
Do I have to bring my own materials?
Not unless you want to! Introspect has an variety of materials for use!