Perinatal Counselling
Therapeutic Support Throughout Your Reproductive Journey
The perinatal period is one of the most emotionally significant seasons of a person's life.
Yet many people find themselves feeling far less prepared for it than they expected.
Perinatal counselling at Counselling & Co. supports individuals and couples through many stages of the reproductive and parenting journey: pregnancy, postpartum, infertility, loss, birth trauma, and the longer arc of becoming and being a parent. We offer in-person sessions in Oakville and virtual therapy across Ontario.
You can read every book, attend every class, and still find yourself standing in the middle of it, wondering why no one told you it would feel like this. The joy everyone talks about can sit right alongside fear, grief, overwhelm, loneliness, or a quiet sense of having lost yourself somewhere in the process. Sometimes it is all of those things at once. Sometimes it is something you cannot quite name.
Our work is grounded in Emotionally Focused Therapy and informed by approaches such as Brainspotting and EMDR when helpful. Above all, it is rooted in the belief that people heal through connection, support, and relationships, not in isolation.
When the Weight of It Starts to Show Up
Sometimes it shows up in ways you expected. Sometimes it doesn't.
You are supposed to feel grateful, and instead you feel numb, or anxious, or like you are just getting through it. You love your baby, and you miss who you were before. You are exhausted in a way that sleep does not fix. You and your partner are in the same house and somehow further apart than you have ever felt. You are carrying a grief that does not fit into any of the categories people seem to have for it.
Perinatal Counselling Can Help When You Are Navigating:
Pregnancy loss, TFMR, stillbirth, infant loss, and grief at any stage
Identity shifts and losing a sense of yourself in the transition to parenthood
Relationship strain and growing distance from your partner
Perfectionism, self-criticism, and feeling like you are falling short
Parental burnout and the longer exhaustion of the parenting years
Returning to work and the transitions that come with it
Infertility, IVF, and the emotional toll of assisted reproduction
Prenatal anxiety and fear through pregnancy
Ambivalence, complicated feelings, or an unplanned pregnancy
Birth trauma and experiences that did not unfold the way you had hoped
Postpartum anxiety, depression, rage, and intrusive thoughts
Difficulty bonding, connecting, or finding your footing as a parent
This Is Not About Managing Your Way Through It
There is no shortage of advice during this season of life. What to eat, how to sleep, what kind of parent to be. Everyone has something to offer, and very little of it touches the underlying emotional experience.
At Counselling & Co., we are not here to give you more strategies to layer onto an already full life. We are here to understand what is actually happening.
The anxiety, the disconnection, the version of this you imagined and the reality you are living inside. The parts of your experience that have been hard to say out loud because you are not sure anyone will actually get it.
Our work is grounded in Emotionally Focused Therapy and informed by approaches such as Brainspotting and EMDR when helpful. Together, these approaches allow us to explore not only the emotions and relationships shaping your experience, but also the ways stress, grief, trauma, and overwhelm can become held in the body and nervous system.
We believe that emotions are meaningful, that the patterns showing up right now make sense once you understand what they are protecting, and that what you need is not to be fixed. You need to be understood. That is where the work begins.
Areas of Care
Infertility and IVF
Prenatal Anxiety
Ambivalence and Unplanned Pregnancy
Termination for Medical Reasons (TFMR)
Postpartum Anxiety
Postpartum Depression
Postpartum Rage
Intrusive Thoughts
Bonding and Attachment Challenges
Identity Shifts and Loss of Self
Relationship Changes After Baby
Parental Burnout
Perinatal Mental Health Support at Every Stage
Perinatal counselling here is not limited to postpartum depression or a specific diagnosis. It is for the full emotional and relational experience of this season of life. That may include:
Making sense of an infertility journey and the difficult decisions it can require
Processing a pregnancy loss, termination for medical reasons, or birth that left a mark
Working through the identity shift of becoming a parent and the grief of who you were before.
Understanding connection and bonding, and why they do not always look or feel the way you expected
Working through intrusive thoughts, rage, or a low mood that has been there longer than anyone told you it would be
Navigating changes in your relationship through the transition to parenthood
Finding your footing in parenthood without losing yourself in the process
The transition to parenthood can place strain on even the strongest relationships. For couples navigating growing distance, communication challenges, or the impact of infertility, loss, pregnancy, birth, or parenting on their relationship, couples counselling may also be helpful. Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy is among the services we offer.
Perinatal Counselling in Oakville and Across Ontario
Counselling & Co. offers in-person perinatal counselling at our Oakville & Tillsonburg locations and virtual therapy for clients across Ontario.
Our team includes therapists with specialized training across the full range of perinatal experiences, from infertility and pregnancy through postpartum, birth trauma, and grief. We offer complimentary Meet & Greets so you can connect with a therapist and decide whether they feel like the right fit for you.
Some people come in person because being in the room matters. Some start virtually because it is what makes support accessible right now. Both options are available, and together we can determine what feels like the best fit for you.
We aim to make accessing support as straightforward as possible. Initial sessions are 90 minutes, with ongoing sessions typically 60 minutes. Extended 90-minute sessions are also available when clinically appropriate.
When You Are Ready, We Are Here
If this season is harder than you expected, or if you are carrying something you have not yet found the right place to put down, that is enough. You do not need a diagnosis, nor do you need to know exactly what you are looking for.
Our complimentary 15-minute Meet & Greet offers an opportunity to connect with a therapist, ask questions, and get a sense of whether the fit feels right for you. We would be honoured to be part of your village during this time.
Perinatal Counselling Therapists
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Erin Harvey
Registered Psychotherapist
She/Her -
Karrie Carlos
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
She/Her -
Meghan Hamilton
Registered Social Worker & Supervisor
She/Her
Questions About Perinatal Counselling
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Yes. Postpartum depression, anxiety, rage, and intrusive thoughts are some of the most common reasons people seek perinatal counselling. Our approach goes beyond symptom management to explore the emotional experience driving what you are feeling. You do not need a formal diagnosis to reach out. If something has felt off since your baby arrived, that is enough to start a conversation.
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Perinatal counselling is therapy that supports individuals, couples, and families through the emotional and relational experiences of pregnancy, birth, postpartum, infertility, loss, and the transition into parenthood. At Counselling & Co., the work goes beyond symptom management to explore the deeper shifts in identity, relationship, and emotional experience that this season of life often brings.
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It is for anyone navigating the emotional terrain of the reproductive and parenting journey, whether that is infertility, pregnancy anxiety, birth trauma, postpartum depression or rage, pregnancy loss, termination for medical reasons (TFMR), identity shifts, or the relational impact of becoming a parent. You do not need a formal diagnosis to come in. If something about this season is harder than you expected, that is enough.
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That is something we hear often. A lot of therapy stays on the surface, and people leave feeling like they talked about things without anything actually shifting. The work here is grounded in Emotionally Focused Therapy, which goes beneath the presenting problem to the underlying emotional experience. If past therapy felt like going in circles, this tends to feel different.
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Yes. We offer in-person sessions at our Oakville location and virtual therapy for clients across Ontario. Both are available for perinatal work.
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Yes. Some couples attend together, while others choose to begin individually. Both options are available to work through the relational impact of infertility, a pregnancy loss, birth trauma, or the transition into parenthood. We offer Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy as part of our perinatal support. You can learn more on our couples counselling page.
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No. Perinatal counselling can support people at many stages of the reproductive and parenting journey, including infertility, IVF, pregnancy, pregnancy loss, birth trauma, postpartum adjustment, and the transition into parenthood. If the emotional impact of these experiences is affecting your life, relationships, or sense of self, support may be helpful.
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