Becoming a parent can be just as much shadow as it is sunshine. But society has long looked at parenthood with little nuance, categorizing parents as either “acceptable,” or “not,” and forcing the narrative that if you’re not loving every moment, you’re doing it wrong. This keeps you isolated and ashamed, disconnected from your own power (and each other), afraid to make a wrong move. It discredits the shadow parts- overwhelm, depression, infertility, miscarriage, stillbirth, anxiety, loss of identity, rage, birth trauma, relationship issues- the parts that can be common, but that we are told never to let see the light.
I recognize each person’s path to parenthood as both unique to you and interwoven with others- your children, your parents, your partners, and all other parents in the world. I recognize that being a parent also exists in spaces of loss and infertility, and that to be a parent is to face joy, shame, frustration, adoration, and heartbreak, all in a day’s work. I provide therapy that allows room for all of the messy and vulnerable parts of the pregnancy and parenthood spectrum. Therapy that works to build on strengths that already exist in you, with authenticity, safe-keeping, and humor.
When you can acknowledge the shadow, you can make room for the light- in yourself and in others
*Land acknowledgment: Highwire Therapy, LLC is located in Southeast Louisiana, on the traditional and unseated territories of the Chitimacha, Houma, and Chahta Yakni (Choctaw) tribes.
*Photo credit: Katie Sikora; IG: @katie.sik