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 on Chicago’s North side, on the traditional and unceded territories of the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, ad Odawa, as well as the Monominee, Miami, and Ho-Chunk Nations. 

*Photo credit: Katie Sikora; IG: @katie.sik

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, dual-licensed in Illinois and Louisiana, and Perinatal Mental Health Certified through Postpartum Support International. As a social worker by training, I believe strongly in the core value of social justice. I affirm that the lives (and birth experiences) of people of color and trans people matter, and acknowledge that the systems, not the individuals trying to survive within them, are broken. I work to understand and honor how each client has learned to navigate life while staying safe and stable, even when those ways now require some reconfiguring.

I have over ten years of clinical experience, and have specialized training in EMDR (including advanced training in using EMDR with the perinatal population), pregnancy and infant loss, trauma-informed yoga, birth trauma, infertility, and reproductive justice. I have a strong background in attachment and trauma, and like to incorporate somatic and mindfulness techniques in addition to more traditional cognitive and talk therapies.

I am not a healer or a savior, nor am I a blank slate. I am another human being with clinical expertise, an authentic (and sometimes irreverent) approach, and a good sense of humor, who is here to reflect, shine light, and walk with you in a collaborative way. And I’m already excited to meet you.

[Photo credit: Curtis Staiger, 2020 IG: @staigerimages]