Support for the Journey of Motherhood
You were not meant to mother alone.
When we are nurtured and supported, we do better, our babies do better, and our families thrive. Still, many of us are left wondering, where is my tribe? This very question has inspired my mission to foster a sacred space for mothers to receive the support they deserve.
The perinatal period and motherhood can be profoundly beautiful and empowering, yet messy and vulnerable all at once. We discover challenges that we’re not confident we can handle alone. Whichever stage you might find yourself in, building your tribe and support system makes all the difference.
In my practice, I support womxn who are planning to conceive, expecting, postpartum, and parenting children of all ages. Each of these stages bring new joys and challenges. I offer specialized mindful and solution-focused services for pregnancy, motherhood, and parenting to help facilitate the process with professional guidance and care.
My values
01 Connection
02 empowerment
03 COMMUNITY
04 Safety
05 Joy
Individual Therapy
For Mamas
We all want to be the best mom we can be for our children. Motherhood deepens our identity in such profound ways. It cracks us open and gives us an opportunity to discover a new version of ourselves. Some of us have no idea how strong we are until we’ve become mothers.
Whether you’re pregnant, postpartum, or in the thick of mothering, working with a professional therapist who specializes in perinatal mental health can be transformative. It can offer you prevention and treatment for anxiety and depression. Sessions can offer a soft landing to unpack your journey even if you aren’t experiencing depression or anxiety. Therapy can even support you in becoming the kind of parent you’d like to be.
If you’re experiencing any of the following, getting support early on can make all the difference.
Making sense of your shifting identity
Irritability & rage
Excessive weepiness
Excessive worry, especially around the health and safety of your baby/child
Racing or intrusive thoughts
Feeling out of control
Isolating
Feeling worthless, guilty, hopeless
Challenged to connect with baby
Feeling like you aren’t a good mother
Difficulty making sense of a complicated or traumatic birth
Breastfeeding challenges
Heightened conflict or disconnection with your partner
Exhaustion & overwhelm
Old anxieties, depression, or traumas reemerging
Stressful family dynamics
Previous pregnancy loss or infertility
Balancing work and motherhood or SAHM life
Hormonal imbalances
Ambivalence around pregnancy/parenting
Sensory overload
Single parenting
The mental load of mothering is no joke! The shifts within yourself, your relationships, and your family dynamics can be complex. If you have a history of anxiety, depression, disorder eating, trauma, these issues can (for some) reemerge. Intergenerational patterns of dysfunction and inner child wounding may show up, which can be confronting and overwhelming.
You don’t have to go it alone.
Postpartum Planning for Expectant Mothers
Matrescence: (noun) a woman’s psychological, emotional, and physical development through the process of becoming a mother.
Prepare for this profound new chapter of your life! A holistic and supportive postpartum plan is just as important, if not more so, than your birth plan. For professional women, stay at home mothers, and those who fall somewhere in between planning for and adjusting to your new life can feel tricky. With a flexible postpartum plan, you’ll feel more grounded and prepared for your 4th trimester. It can offer prevention and buffer against postpartum depression or anxiety.
I offer a personalized, expertly guided Postpartum Planning & Support package, which gives you the tools, resources, and knowledge needed to bolster you during this transitional period.
What’s Included:
4 sessions designed to collaboratively develop a tailored plan to ground you during your transition to motherhood
Downloadable postpartum wellness planning guide
Vetted referrals & resources to empower you to build community & gain knowledge
Option to continue on with nurturing therapy to support your throughout your postpartum period and beyond
*For ongoing clients, this is something you can opt into during your regular sessions
You can also purchase my downloadable Postpartum Wellness Planning Guide a la carte for $20! Just Venmo me @JessieGalloTherapy and include your email in the notes to receive your guide.
Conscious Parenting Support
“This doesn’t mean permissive parenting at all. This means fully present, fully attuned, creating limits, creating boundaries, but knowing when your ego is at play. Knowing the fine line when it is about you and when it is truly of service to your children. And treading that line, treading that water, walking in it, dancing it, tumbling, stumbling. THAT’s the process of conscious parenting.” - Dr. Shefali Tsabary
I can’t think of an experience more deeply humbling than parenting. For many, it is simultaneously the most challenging and rewarding experience of their lifetime. You’re always learning something new as they grow! If you’re feeling stuck or lost in certain situations with your child, professional guidance can help you build a more joyful and grounded parenting experience. Engaging in your own therapy can allow you to show up as the kind of parent you want to be.
Blending my knowledge of child development, years of experience working with children, adolescents and parents, as well as various effective parenting approaches, I weave in customized parenting support to ongoing individual therapy sessions.
What’s Included:
Guidance around parenting techniques and approaches for ALL AGES. It can be helpful to pull from various approaches to find the right fit for each parent. Below are some of my personal favorites;
Conscious & Mindful Parenting
Respectful Parenting
Consent Parenting
RIE Parenting
Information and resources on attachment and child development
Exploring triggers that come up for your in parenting
Healing from your own childhood
Support with managing behavioral issues
Mommy Tribe
Support Group
Many of us have come into motherhood being told “it takes a village” and arrive here wondering… WHERE IS MY VILLAGE?!
We were meant to mother in community, not in isolation. In today’s world, we seem to have it all backwards and mothers are asked to spend more time alone than any other time throughout history. It is no wonder so many women struggle with this transition. ALL moms need their tribe of supportive people to walk through this journey with.
Mommy Tribe is a nurturing and empowering group of women supporting each other as they transition into motherhood. The postpartum period can be joyful, vulnerable, disorienting, and/or overwhelming all at once. Relationship conflicts, anxiety/depression can emerge (or remerge), family conflicts, and self image can all be issues that quickly arrive at the forefront. Whether you are simply having a difficult time adjusting, had a traumatic birth, are having scary thoughts, hormonal challenges, are sleep deprived, struggling with your shifting identity, or your relationship has been challenged, this group can be your soft landing and space to process.
What to expect:
Weekly virtual support group facilitated by Jessica Gallo (LCSW)
Non-judgemental, supportive community of mamas
Wide range of topics covered in each meeting (e.g., process shifts in family dynamics, balancing career and motherhood, SAHM stressors, relationship conflicts, self image, setting boundaries, family of origin issues, healing from traumatic birth, managing depression and anxiety)
Practical tools to help unpack the emotional and mental load of motherhood
Mindfulness practices and conscious parenting techniques
A safe place to make sense of your story
*Note: Currently, we are only offering a virtual mommy support group. Newborns and pre-walkers are welcome! Monthly memberships are available. If you need support, but finances are tight, inquire about our sliding scale payment option.
ON PAUSE | INQUIRE FOR WAITLIST
Resources
TIPS FOR PMADS PREVENTION
PMADS are not entirely preventable, but there are some things you can do to decrease your risk.
What are some ways to prevent postpartum mood disorders during pregnancy and the postpartum period?
PERINATAL Anxiety & Depression
Approximately 15-20% of women experience clinical postpartum anxiety and depression in the first year of motherhood. If you experience anxiety & depression during or prior to pregnancy, you can be at higher risk. If addressed with a professional, it is highly treatable!
WELLNESS TIPS FOR MAMAS
The best things you can do as a mother is to nurture yourself and build your tribe. We were not meant to mother alone.
Explore resources out there that can support during your journey of motherhood.
Frequently Asked Questions
01 What are some signs that I need to seek professional support?
If you are experiencing some or all of the symptoms described above, getting professional therapy can help to address and alleviate them. If these have gone on for more than 2 weeks or you have tried your usual coping skills and they just aren't working, it is time to reach out. With help, depression and anxiety in motherhood are both highly treatable. If you are in the pregnancy or postpartum period, read here for more signs and risk factors of PMADS.
I also want to acknowledge that symptoms of rage, anxiety and depression can last beyond the first year of motherhood. Parenting is one of the most joyful, but also triggering experiences in life. You don't have to suffer alone. If any of this is resonating for you, let's connect.
If you are having thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, seek help immediately. Go to your trusted medical professional or local emergency room.
For more resources and support:
Call or Text the PSI HelpLine
Call 1-800-944-4773 (4PPD)
#1 En Espanol or #2 English
Text in English: 800-944-4773
Text en Español: 971-203-7773
You can also reach out to the PSI HelpLine here.
The PSI HelpLine is a toll-free telephone number anyone can call to get basic information, support, and resources.
The HelpLine is not a crisis hotline and does not handle emergencies. Click here for Emergency Information.
The HelpLine messages are returned every day of the week.
You are welcome to leave a confidential message any time, and one of the HelpLine volunteers will return your call as soon as possible. If you are not able to talk when the volunteer calls you, you can arrange another time to connect. The volunteer will give you information, encouragement, and names of resources near you.
02 What is your approach to helping moms and how is that different than your work with other clients?
While I bring all my knowledge, skill, and experience to my work with mothers, I fine tune my offerings to meet moms where they are depending on one's birth and mothering experience. In our first sessions, I do a thorough assessment to develop a customized treatment plan. Someone early on in motherhood may need more nurturing, practical support, psychoeducation, and referrals to wellness providers. As a baby grows into young childhood and adolescents, therapy can start to unfold in a different way too. Inner child wounding can come up at different stages in parenthood and in sessions this offers a wonderful opportunity to explore and heal. Moreover, for those who did not experience a secure attachment in their own childhood, therapy can offer a corrective experience to help you work towards an "earned secure" attachment. This may increase your chances of developing a secure attachment with your child, as well. More than anyone, moms at all stages can benefit from self-compassion practices. Weaving in parenting guidance for those who are interested in an option, as well. Most importantly, I believe that we were not meant to mother alone, but in community. Modern motherhood is wrought with isolation. Therefore, at the core of my work with mothers at any stage is supporting them in building resources even outside of sessions.
03 Do you work with moms of all stages or just pregnancy/postpartum?
I have expertise in perinatal mental health, child development, adolescent mental health, attachment, conscious parenting and family systems, all of which I call on to support moms at ALL stages. I love working with folks on their journey through motherhood, whether it be during pregnancy, postpartum, childhood, and adolescents. Each stage presents new joys and challenges that unfold a deepening of your identity. I’m so glad I get to be along for the ride.
