Kelly Akehurst, Licensed Psychotherapist Clinician, is a mom of two and a survivor of postpartum anxiety and depression. Her passion for working with moms came after she had her two children and realized how important it is to support mothers in a variety of ways. She is enthusiastic about staying up to date on parenting tips and ways to help parents during difficult transitions.
We are fortunate to have Kelly share some crucial information about women’s mental health!
Kelly is a National Board Certified Licensed Professional Counselor. She received her master’s in Counseling from Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology and has specialized training as a Maternal Health Specialist through Postpartum Support International. Her clinical experience includes working in her own private practice, Jacobi Medical Center, Hartford Healthcare and Center for Discovery Eating Disorder Treatment.
How did you know you wanted to specialize in working with mothers?
I began focusing on women’s mental health after my own struggles with pregnancy and postpartum. I realized that this is an area where women experience many issues and oftentimes feel shame and confusion about where to turn to for extra help. I recognized the critical gap in mental health care for women, especially during pregnancy, postpartum, and parenting. While the focus was often on baby’s health, many women felt lost and unsupported. After working with women in hospital settings, I opened my private practice to fill this void and provide compassionate, accessible maternal mental health services.
If I could, I would give every woman the gift of support around mental health. I think a lot of women feel shame around seeking help – I definitely did.
What would you like mothers to know?
You are not alone. Mood struggles impact 1 in 5 moms and 1 and 10 dads and is the number one pregnancy complication. After pregnancy and birth, parenthood comes with many challenges and transitions as well. I am dedicated to meeting clients where they are, offering comfort, understanding, and appropriate assistance throughout parenthood.
How does your practice support mothers?
Many mothers initially come to me with issues related to pregnancy and postpartum and treatment often leads to discoveries surrounding additional struggles related to feeling overwhelmed in other areas of life including work stress, job changes, relationship issues, body image and eating issues, anxiety, OCD, PTSD and depression.
Do you only treat mothers?
I am passionate about supporting women of all ages and focus on treating stress, anxiety, depression, PTSD, OCD, eating disorders, and pregnancy and postpartum depression and anxiety. I enjoy working with women through the challenges of motherhood, career transitions, college transitions, relationship issues, divorce and life changes. My goal is to create a supportive and safe space for exploration and change and to empower you to get back to living a more meaningful and fulfilling life.
Do you have any advice for relief from feeling overwhelmed in day-to-day life?
Many of us are feeling overwhelmed by stress these days. Here are a few techniques that I share with my patients to help with managing stress, and that I rely on myself.
Enjoy yourself by doing something that brings you pleasure every day and schedule them into your calendar. Self-care is just as important as anything else you will do today.
Move your body. Finding movement that you enjoy is important to completing the stress cycle. Our minds and bodies are connected. When we are feeling stressed, we often feel it in our bodies due to our nervous system. Examples of mind-body exercises include yoga, meditation, progressive muscle relaxation and slow breathing.
Examine your thoughts and notice what is contributing to a stress reaction. For example, “I should be doing more. I’m not good enough”. Often these thoughts are stories we tell ourselves. In our work together, these parts and underlying beliefs can be worked with and healed.
To schedule a complimentary 15-minute consultation visit Kelly’s website or email her at [email protected]
Contact Information:
[email protected]
475-477-0278
www.kellyakehurstlpc.com