VIRTUAL THERAPY FOR NEW MOMS

You Love Your Kids. But You Miss You.

Therapy for women who want to feel like more than "just a mom" again. Redefine motherhood on your terms, reconnect with who you are, and build a life where motherhood is part of your identity...not all of it.

You Expected Motherhood to Change Your Life.

You Didn't Expect It to Change You This Much.

You love your kid(s) more than anything.

But if you're being really honest? You miss parts of your old life. Your freedom. Your career. Your relationship. Your body. Your ambition. The ability to do literally anything without coordinating seventeen other things first.

On the outside, you're doing the mom thing.

  • Keeping everyone alive

  • Remembering everyone's everything

  • Googling whether that rash is normal

  • Carrying a mental to-do list that never seems to end

But underneath all of that, it feels more like...

  • "I love my kids, but I miss my old life."

  • "Why am I angry all the time?"

  • "I don't want anyone to touch me."

  • "I feel guilty anytime I do something for myself."

  • "What happened to the ambitious version of me?"

  • "Who even am I outside of being someone's mom?"

And after a while, those thoughts can start spilling into your relationship, confidence, career, friendships, sex life—or simply how you feel when you look in the mirror.

You're Allowed to Love Being a Mom and still Want More for Yourself.

These things aren't mutually exclusive. And it's okay to...

Love your kids and need time away from them.

Be grateful for this life and miss your old one.

Be a great mom and prioritize yourself.

Love motherhood and still hate parts of it.

Chase your dreams and show up for your family.

Motherhood is part of who you are.

It doesn't have to become your entire identity.

There's Actually a Name for What You're Going Through Right Now

You know... the whole becoming-a-mom-and-figuring-out-who-the-heck-you-are-now experience? It’s called Matrescence.

What Exactly is Matrescence?

Matrescence describes the profound physical, emotional, psychological, relational, and identity transition you exeperience when you become a mother.

Think of it as adolescence...but for motherhood. And just like that teenage transition, it can shake up nearly every aspect of your life: Your identity. Your relationships. Your body. Your career. Your priorities. Your confidence. Your sense of self.

How can matrescence affect your identity?

When you become a mom you're gaining something huge while grieving things you've lost at the same time.

It's not just about learning how to take care of a baby. You're also becoming someone new.

You may find yourself questioning things you once felt sure aboutmor wonder what you want your life to look like now.

How can therapy help with matrescence?

Therapy gives you somewhere to talk about the parts of motherhood you might not feel comfortable saying out loud.

Instead of trying to "get back to your old self," therapy can help you figure out who you are now—and what you want motherhood, relationships, work, and life to look like from here.

Why work with me?

My work focuses on perinatal mental health and helping women through the emotional and identity shifts of motherhood. But this also hits close to home. At the end of 2025, I became a first-time mama—and experienced my own version of the “Wait... who the heck am I now?” new-mom identity crisis.

So when you tell me you miss the old you, feel guilty for wanting time to yourself, aren't sure what happened to your ambition, or love your kids but don't love every second of motherhood? I get it.

And while my experience isn't your experience, you won't have to convince me that two completely opposite feelings can be true at the exact same time.

How therapy can help

In therapy, we’ll talk about your experience, what’s really going on and start figuring out how to:

  • Feel more grounded and in control instead of overwhelmed, irritated, or constantly on edge.

  • Trust yourself and your choices instead of second-guessing whether you’re doing motherhood “right.”

  • Ask for what you need and set boundaries instead of saying yes, doing it all, and quietly building resentment.

  • Feel like you again so you can be a mom without losing the woman you are outside of mom life

You don't have to go back to who you were before becoming a mom.

You get to love who you're becoming.

Sessions & Rates

Stephanie Annesley

Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)

Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)

Currently Accepting Clients Residing in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba & Saskatchewan

Rates

Standard Therapy Session

Individual support to work through challenges, build new skills, and move toward your goals.

$150

  • Duration: 50 minutes

  • Availability: Accepting new clients

  • Location: Virtual

  • Insurance: Receipts provided for reimbursement (Coverage varies by provider & plan)

  • Sliding Scale: All sliding scale spots are currently full.

Extended Therapy Session

More time to unpack complex challenges, gain clarity, and create meaningful change.

$200

  • Duration: 75 minutes

  • Availability: Accepting new clients

  • Location: Virtual

  • Insurance: Receipts provided for reimbursement (Coverage varies by provider & plan)

Book an extended Session

Frequently Asked Questions

The Questions You Might Be Googling at 11 PM

Is what I'm experiencing normal after becoming a mom?

Motherhood can come with a surprisingly wide range of emotions, including love, joy, grief, anger, resentment, boredom, guilt, uncertainty, and a sense of losing yourself. Therapy can give you space to understand what's coming up for you and whether additional support may be helpful.

Do I need to have postpartum depression or anxiety to come to therapy?

No. You don't need a diagnosis—or even a clear idea of what's "wrong"—to start therapy. You might simply know that motherhood feels harder or more complicated than you expected, you're struggling with your identity, or you want somewhere to talk honestly about how you're feeling.

What if I love my baby but sometimes regret or miss my old life?

Those feelings can coexist. Therapy for maternal ambivalence gives you somewhere to explore conflicting feelings about motherhood without reducing your experience to either "I love being a mom" or "I don't." There can be a whole lot of grey in between.

Can therapy help with mom guilt?

Mom guilt can show up around everything from working and childcare to needing alone time, setting boundaries, maintaining friendships, or simply wanting things that have nothing to do with your children. In therapy, we can explore where those expectations come from and work toward a definition of motherhood that's more aligned with your own values.

What if I feel like I've lost myself since becoming a mom?

This is one of the reasons someone might seek new mom identity crisis therapy or postpartum identity shift counseling. Rather than trying to turn you back into the person you were before your baby, therapy can help you explore what's changed, what you want to carry forward, and who you're becoming in this season.

Why do I feel angry or resentful all the time?

Feeling angrier or more irritable after becoming a mom is more common than you might think. In therapy, we won’t shame it or try to stuff it down. We’ll figure out what’s underneath it, what’s triggering it, and what might need to change so it doesn’t keep running the show.

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