Individual Counselling

Build a counsellor into your village of support

Becoming a mother can be one of the biggest challenges we face in life and we often need extra support. So many mums struggle with fertility loss, miscarriage, traumatic births, breastfeeding that didn’t work out, loss of identity and changes in your relationship with your partner, and difficulties managing your toddler’s behaviours (especially if you also have a newborn baby).

Joining me in counselling provides you with a safe place to make sense of what you have experienced so you can move towards healing.

Whilst it often feels like a lonely experience, it is common for women to face fertility loss, miscarriage, stillbirth and birth trauma. Breastfeeding challenges can be significant and come with a great deal of grief and loss for many mothers. Other issues such as the massive transition to motherhood, the loss of identity, changes in relationships with partners and adjusting to a new baby whilst juggling toddlers or older children can be overwhelming.

There are many emotions we experience that are unexpected. We can experience enormous grief and loss trying to have a baby. We can experience trauma during birth or breastfeeding. We can experience grief and loss around our identity and our relationships. Birth changes us. Becoming a mother changes us. When things don’t go smoothly, we need extra support. It doesn’t mean you are a failure. It doesn’t mean you aren’t good enough. Seeking professional support in times when things feel overwhelming and you are struggling means you are more than the best mum for your child!

Your emotional experience matters. You deserve to be held in a safe, confidential space where you can openly discuss your most vulnerable thoughts and feelings. You deserve to heal from the experiences you have had as well as for you to receive guidance about mothering.

With over 25 years experience working with families, I understand the issues that often face new mothers in their adjustment to motherhood. As an experienced facilitator of the Circle of Security® Parenting™ program, I also understand the struggle many mothers face with managing their toddler’s behaviour. In counselling I help mums through the adjustment to matresence, but also in the area of parenting support for toddlers and older children.

Counselling sessions are $160 per hour and are held at Kindred Midwifery, Obstetrics & Gyneacology at East Brisbane or via telehealth. Medicare rebates are available with a GP referral for up to 3 sessions of non-directive pregnancy support counselling where you are either pregnant, or have been pregnant in the preceding 12 months. This includes women who have experienced pregnancy loss. (Please note: the referral needs to state ‘non-directive pregnancy support counselling’. Mental Health Care Plans are not accepted).

“Going to a counsellor when you are sad or overwhelmed should be as normal as going to the doctor when you have the flu”

— Source Unknown

Some of the motherhood challenges I can help you with

  • Fertility loss, miscarriage and stillbirth

  • Pregnancy after loss

  • Birth trauma

  • Breastfeeding grief and loss

  • Postnatal depression and anxiety

  • Emotional impact of gestational and Type 1 diabetes on pregnancy

  • Managing baby sleep and crying babies

  • Bonding with your baby

  • When you think you are failing at mothering

  • Feeling competent as a mother

  • Dealing with 'mum guilt', anger and rage

  • Dealing with overwhelm and the mental load

  • Change in identity since becoming a mother - the loss of your old life, friends, job

  • Managing changes in the relationship with your partner and family members

  • Transitioning from one to two (or more) children

  • Learning gentle parenting

  • Separation anxiety in children

  • Challenges relating to your child’s behaviour including tantrums and difficulty regulating emotions

  • Managing toddler behaviours that trigger negative emotions in you

Counselling sessions are held at Kindred Midwifery, Obstetrics, and Gynaecology in East Brisbane or via telehealth.

“I was given Karen’s name after the birth of my second child. I’d had a loss between my first and second and I had not dealt with the grief associated with my loss. Karen has been an absolute god-send for me. Right from the start Karen created such a safe space for me to sit in my grief, let it all out, feel my pain and to cry my river of tears. I feel a hundred times better than I did before meeting Karen - I feel heard, I feel validated and I feel healed. I only wish I had met Karen sooner.”

— Kerri - son aged 3 & daughter aged 5 months

“I saw Karen about 8 months postpartum and it's actually difficult to fully put into words how much she helped me. I struggled with PPD with my main symptom being postpartum rage (something often not talked about). Through my sessions with Karen I was able to identify the cause and triggers for these feelings, bringing light into a very dark feeling and eliminating the shame and guilt I was feeling around it.

Karen was also able to support me emotionally in dealing with other incredibly stressful issues happening in my life at the time (husband's cancer diagnosis). So her counselling skills aren't just limited to motherhood issues, she is incredibly holistic and appreciates all the complexities of the person in order to support them through whatever they are going through. Karen's questioning skills and ability to reflect back to help you see your situation with a deeper understanding and with more perspective is truly impressive. She offered an incredibly warm and non-judgemental space, and I would always look forward to my sessions with her as it felt like a weight slowly lifting after each session.

I am eternally grateful to Karen for the support she provided to me and for being a part of my very small village. And I will definitely be seeing her again when times get tough in parenting. If you are unsure whether to book a session, just do it. I wished I'd done it sooner!”

— Holly - son aged 12 months

 

Karen O’Mara

Karen O’Mara is a clinical social worker with more than 25 years experience working with families and is a member of the Australian Association of Social Workers. Karen has worked extensively in the areas of grief, loss, trauma, crisis, breastfeeding and parenting support counselling. She is a qualified NDC (neuroprotective developmental care) practitioner with the Possums Program and a Becoming Us relationships practitioner. Her interventions include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Interpersonal Therapy, Narrative Therapy, psychoeducation and engagement with other perinatal services. In counselling sessions, Karen uses an attachment and family systems approach to looking at problems holistically. She is known to hold you in a non-judgemental space that allows you the opportunity to speak your truth and find your own way forward, without any direct instruction or advice. Karen believes in your ability to build on your own strengths, as she guides and supports you.