Meg Strader (she/her)

Pregnancy & Postpartum is an exciting & often anxious time for parents. Regardless of how much you may have been looking forward to this time in you life, it is natural to have many different feelings come up. You may be simultaneously feeling grief over losing aspects of your previous life & anxiety or ambivalence about what may come next. Acknowledging these dualities does not mean that you need to be "fixed" or are broken, it means you are a whole complex person, who might want support.

My heart goes to yours in this time of grief. IVF, infertility, pregnancy loss, or the the loss of a baby is an ongoing experience regardless of when it began. It shows up in many ways and on its own timeline. Within grief, there are moments of intensity that stay with you for a lifetime. And there are long days and weeks that might feel colorless and unending. Therapy can be a space to fully acknowledge where you are, where you have been & look forward to how grief may travel forward with you.

Parenting can bring intense emotional highs and lows (sometimes in the same minute!). It can also bring forward aspects of yourself that feel uncomfortable, or that don't tell the whole story of who you are. You may find yourself stuck in frustration, resentment or loneliness as a parent and feel guilty that you aren't savoring every moment. Therapy can provide the room to explore and honor what you need for yourself to be able to access more fun and joy in parenthood.

In my practice, I believe that the person coming to therapy is the expert on their own life and experiences. Each person has within themselves the ability to notice and reflect on their lives and to make changes that align with their values and desires. My role is to listen and to acknowledge the work that you are doing, while staying curious about what you are experiencing and why. In this therapy, it is my role to not judge or critique, but to see you as a whole person worthy of regard.

Often our relationships with other people, or lack of, is what brings a person to therapy. My practice focuses on building compassion for the self and others, while learning to model boundaries and self-care in order to protect oneself from unhealthy relationships. There is often space in the therapeutic relationship to practice these skills once trust has been established (ex. naming dynamics, making repairs, practicing assertiveness, etc). This is a gentle process at your own speed.

Attachment patterns can start in childhood and inform relationships in all aspects of life going forward, including those with our romantic partners. However, it can be a huge relief to my clients to know that they are not doomed to preserving these patterns their entire lives and that the difficulties they encounter in relationships are not because they or their partner is "bad". Instead, there is hope and the possibility for understanding why these patterns happen and how to heal these wounds.

My heart goes to yours in your loss. The experience of grief is ongoing, regardless of how it starts: infertility, IVF, pregnancy loss, or the death of a baby or child. There can be moments of intense feeling, some that you will always remember. And there can be weeks and months of unending grey. Therapy is a place to take your bearings, feel what you are feeling, and think about how you will travel forward in your life with this grief accompanying you.