Transition to Motherhood Counseling in Chicago & Northfield
You don't have to navigate motherhood alone.
Becoming a mother is one of the most significant transitions you’ll ever experience. Our therapists provide compassionate support to help you embrace your new role, navigate the changes, and become the mother you want to be.
It's Okay to Love Your Baby and Still Struggle
Becoming a mother is one of the most significant transitions that will ever take place in a woman’s life, and being a mom is not always easy. Getting support at this time is essential to helping you embrace your new role and the many changes it brings.
Motherhood can bring with it the highest of highs, pure love and joy coupled with the lowest of lows, exhaustion, uncertainty, and at times depression and anxiety. Despite dreaming, preparing, and working hard to become a mother, some women begin feeling ambivalent and detached from their baby and others. Many women also grieve the loss of their pre-pregnancy figure and mourn their independence and freedom they had before taking on the role of motherhood.
At Third Coast Wellness, we provide transition to motherhood counseling in Chicago and Northfield. Although having these feelings can make you feel guilty, isolated, and alone in your struggle, these emotions are actually universal experiences that many moms feel. Your feelings are not a reflection of who you are as a woman or a mother, but merely an indication you need help and support as you navigate this immense transition.
Who Transition to Motherhood Counseling Is For
This counseling is for any woman navigating the complex emotional landscape of becoming and being a mother. Whether you’re pregnant, newly postpartum, or adjusting to life with a toddler, you deserve support.
This therapy is right for you if you’re experiencing:
✓ Feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or depressed after having a baby
✓ Ambivalence or detachment from your baby that scares you
✓ Difficulty bonding or feeling like you’re “going through the motions”
✓ Guilt about not feeling the joy everyone said you’d feel
✓ Grief over losing your pre-baby body, identity, or independence
✓ Resentment about how much your life has changed
✓ Exhaustion that goes beyond normal tiredness
✓ Intrusive thoughts about harm coming to your baby
✓ Rage or irritability that feels out of control
✓ Isolation and feeling like you’re the only one struggling
✓ Relationship strain with your partner since the baby arrived
✓ Pressure to be the “perfect mother” and feeling like you’re failing
✓ Questions about whether you made the right choice becoming a mother
Why Choose Transition to Motherhood Counseling at Third Coast Wellness
Our approach provides specialized support from therapists who are not only trained in maternal mental health but who have walked this path themselves.
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Therapists Who Truly Understand
Our therapists at Third Coast Wellness each have three children of their own and over 20 years of experience supporting women on their journey through fertility, pregnancy, motherhood, and parenting. We understand firsthand that motherhood is beautiful and brutal, joyful and exhausting, all at once.
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Proven Expertise and Support
We have created and facilitated New Mother Support Groups for hundreds of women, helping to educate and support them in their new role. We also provide individual and couples therapy to address the full spectrum of maternal mental health concerns, from prenatal anxiety to postpartum depression to parenting stress.
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Compassionate, Judgment-Free Care
Please know that seeking help is far from a sign of weakness. Instead, it shows great strength, and you no longer have to suffer in silence. We provide a safe space where you can be completely honest about what you’re feeling without fear of judgment or shame.
Our Approach to Transition to Motherhood Counseling
We use evidence-based, compassionate approaches designed specifically for maternal mental health and the transition to motherhood.
We specialize in the unique mental health challenges of pregnancy and the postpartum period. This includes prenatal anxiety and depression, postpartum depression and anxiety, postpartum OCD with intrusive thoughts, and postpartum psychosis support. We understand the hormonal, physical, relational, and identity changes that contribute to maternal mental health struggles.
If you're struggling to feel connected to your baby, we provide gentle, nonjudgmental support to help strengthen that bond. We explore what might be interfering with attachment (depression, anxiety, birth trauma, unrealistic expectations) and work on creating moments of connection that feel genuine and sustainable.
Becoming a mother means redefining who you are. We help you navigate the loss of your pre-baby identity while creating space for your new role. You can be a mother AND still be yourself. We work on integrating these parts of your identity rather than feeling like you've lost yourself completely.
The transition to parenthood can strain even the strongest relationships. We provide couples therapy to help you and your partner navigate the division of labor, communication breakdowns, intimacy changes, and resentment that often emerge after having a baby. You don't have to choose between being a good partner and a good mother.
In addition to individual and couples therapy, we facilitate New Mother Support Groups where you can connect with other women going through the same transition. Knowing you're not alone in your struggles can be incredibly healing. These groups provide education, support, and the reminder that what you're feeling is normal.
How Transition to Motherhood Counseling Works
Starting therapy as a new mother when you’re exhausted and overwhelmed can feel like one more thing on your plate. We make it as simple and accessible as possible.
Step 1: Schedule a Free Consultation
Reach out through our online booking or call us directly. We offer a free 10–15 minute phone consultation to discuss what’s bringing you to therapy, clarify your goals, review insurance and payment options, and ensure we’re the right fit.
Step 2: Complete an Initial Assessment
Your first session is about understanding your unique experience. We’ll explore your pregnancy and birth, how you’re adjusting to motherhood, your support system, and what you’re hoping to gain from therapy. We’ll create a plan that honors your needs and works with your schedule.
Step 3: Start Your Therapy Journey
Ongoing sessions are flexible and tailored to what you need. Sometimes that’s individual therapy, sometimes couples work, sometimes joining a support group. We adapt to your changing needs as you move through different stages of early motherhood. If you need to bring your baby to session or reschedule because of feeding or sleep schedules, we completely understand.
What to Expect from Transition to Motherhood Counseling
Our work together helps you become the mother, partner, and person you want to be while honoring the full complexity of this transition.
You can expect to:
✓ Reduce feelings of anxiety, depression, and overwhelm
✓ Strengthen your bond with your baby
✓ Process grief over losses (body, identity, freedom) without guilt
✓ Develop realistic expectations about motherhood
✓ Learn to ask for and accept help from others
✓ Improve communication and connection with your partner
✓ Build confidence in your ability to mother your way
✓ Find community with other mothers who understand
✓ Create space for self-care without feeling selfish
✓ Embrace your new role while staying connected to yourself
Therapists Who Walk This Path With You
“Your feelings are not a reflection of who you are as a woman or a mother, but merely an indication you need help and support as you navigate this immense transition.”
At Third Coast Wellness, we understand that the transition to motherhood is one of the most profound and challenging experiences a woman can go through. The narrative that motherhood should be all joy and no struggle leaves so many women feeling broken when their reality doesn’t match the Instagram version.
We specialize in transition to motherhood counseling in Chicago and Northfield, providing expert, compassionate care for maternal mental health. Our therapists are not only trained specialists in perinatal and postpartum mental health, but they are also mothers themselves who have navigated this transition with all its complexity.
We have over 20 years of combined experience supporting women through fertility challenges, pregnancy, birth, postpartum recovery, and the ongoing journey of motherhood and parenting. We’ve facilitated New Mother Support Groups for hundreds of women, creating safe spaces where mothers can be honest about their struggles without judgment.
Whether you’re dealing with postpartum depression, struggling to bond with your baby, grieving your old life, feeling resentful of your partner, or simply overwhelmed by the enormity of this change, we’re here for you. We provide individual therapy, couples therapy, and support groups, both virtually and in person, to help you become the mother, spouse, and parent you want to be.
You are not a bad mother for struggling. You are not alone in feeling this way. And seeking help doesn’t make you weak. It makes you wise.
Give us a call and let’s get started.
Our Dedicated Team
Founder & Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor
Alison Kramme, M.A., LCPC
Currently seeing clients in-person at Northfield or virtually via TeleHealth.
Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor
Courtney Rankin, MA, LCPC
Currently seeing clients in-person in Chicago or virtually via TeleHealth.
Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor
Sandra Stevens, MA, LCPC
Currently seeing clients in-person in Chicago or virtually via TeleHealth.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to Get Started
Taking this step as a new mother when you’re already exhausted takes courage. We’re here to make it as easy as possible.
Free phone consultations are available.
You can get in touch by calling, emailing, or booking online. We understand the demands of motherhood, so we offer flexible scheduling including evening and weekend appointments.
All new mothers experience some degree of overwhelm, exhaustion, and adjustment. However, if your feelings are interfering with your ability to care for yourself or your baby, lasting more than two weeks, or include thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, it's time to seek help. When in doubt, reach out. It's always better to get support early.
Baby blues affect up to 80% of new mothers and typically resolve within two weeks. Symptoms include mood swings, crying, anxiety, and trouble sleeping. Postpartum depression is more severe and persistent, lasting weeks or months. It includes deep sadness, hopelessness, difficulty bonding, and can significantly impact daily functioning. If symptoms persist beyond two weeks or worsen, seek professional help.
Absolutely. We understand that childcare can be a barrier to getting help. You're welcome to bring your baby to sessions if needed. We'll work around feeding, diaper changes, and fussiness. Your baby's presence won't prevent us from doing meaningful work together.
Not here. Our therapists understand that having difficult feelings about motherhood doesn't make you a bad mother. It makes you human. You can be completely honest about ambivalence, resentment, regret, or any other feelings you're having. We won't judge you, report you, or think less of you. This is a safe space for your truth.
Not necessarily. Many women benefit from individual therapy focused on their own adjustment and mental health. However, if relationship strain is a significant concern, couples therapy can be incredibly helpful. We can do individual sessions, couples sessions, or a combination based on what you need.
You Don't Have to Suffer in Silence
Motherhood is supposed to be beautiful, but no one tells you it can also be lonely, exhausting, and harder than you ever imagined. You don’t have to pretend everything is perfect. You don’t have to smile through the struggle.
It’s okay to love your baby and still feel overwhelmed. It’s okay to need help. It’s okay to not be okay.
Our therapists are here to support you through this immense transition with compassion, expertise, and genuine understanding. We’ve been where you are. We know the way through. And we’re here to walk alongside you.
You deserve support. Your baby needs you healthy. Let us help.
Available in-person in Northfield and Chicago, or virtually throughout Illinois