Therapy to help people feel in control when things feel out of control.

Anxiety. Fertility. Infertility. Pregnancy. Postpartum. Parenting. Relationships.

With “biological clocks” ticking,

shows like The Handmaid’s Tale (I can’t be the only one who felt uncomfortable and angry watching it!),

alarming birth statistics tied to personal identities like race and ethnicity,

and a changing landscape concerning the bodies of people with female reproductive organs,

building a family is more stressful and feels more out of our control than ever.

Usually, working hard to achieve a goal helps actually achieve that goal. You’ve probably achieved many things in your life because you worked hard to get them!

When it comes to getting and staying pregnant, adjusting to being pregnant, having a new baby and parenting that child, our hard work doesn’t always give us the outcome we want.

This can feel shattering and that out-of-control feeling can start to TAKE OVER your life.

Family building is unpredictable.

Natal Counseling is an inclusive space to empower you with information, real skills, and compassionate support to help you navigate any unpredictability in your family building journey.

Are you … 

  1. thinking A LOT about your biological clock?

  2. finding that your family building journey has been different than you imagined?

  3. working hard to build your family but it isn’t going as you expected?

  4. feeling like you have less control over your emotions and relationships when you’ve been dealing with the unpredictability of family building?

  5. wanting to better understand all the paths to parenthood available to you?

  6. finding that something traumatic you lived through is affecting your family building journey?

If any of the above rings true for you, you are in the right place.

I am so glad you are here.

Welcome! I’m Dr. Marisa Perera.

I am a clinical psychologist with expertise in reproductive and perinatal mental health.

I believe everyone should have the right to build a family however they want and be met with compassionate support.

I am deeply passionate about supporting people in building their families, however that may look and whenever that may be.

I want people to know there are options when things feel out of control.

Specialties

  • Fertility + Infertility

    If you are figuring out if you want to build a family or are trying to grow your family now:

    I create judgement-free, inclusive space to help you identify your family building goals & navigate the journey. I give you science-based tools for handling that dreaded out-of-control feeling.

    Therapy for Fertility + Infertility

  • Pregnancy + Postpartum

    If it is getting difficult to manage your emotions and thoughts during pregnancy or postpartum:

    I offer supportive space and science-based tools to help you build insight into and effectively cope your emotions, thoughts, & behaviors. Together, we tackle that “not good enough” or “not doing enough” feeling that too often accompanies parenting.

    Therapy for Pregnancy + Postpartum

  • Parenting

    If you aren’t the parent you want to be:

    I help you deeply connect with your personal and parenting identities & values and (if you want) your own experiences being parented. My goal is to help you be the parent you want to be and have meaningful relationships. I offer science-based tools to get you there.

    Therapy for Parents

  • Anxiety

    If you have a hard time tolerating the uncertainty of the future:

    I help you put anxiety in it’s place and take control over your life back by offering you science-based tools that work. My goal is to move anxiety out of the way so you can achieve your highest potential.

    Therapy For Anxiety

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