Postpartum Therapy in Los Angeles

You just had a baby. This is supposed to be the happiest time of your life. So why do you feel like you're disappearing?

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Nobody warned you it would feel like this. The exhaustion that goes beyond tired. The anxiety that won't let you sleep even when the baby is sleeping. The rage that comes out of nowhere. The crying you can't explain. The terrifying thought that you're not cut out for this. The guilt of feeling anything other than grateful when you have a healthy baby and everyone keeps telling you how lucky you are.

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You're not ungrateful. You're not a bad mother. You're going through something real, and pretending you're fine is making it worse.

 

I'm Dr. Jené Verchick, a licensed clinical psychologist with over 26 years of experience. I work with women in Los Angeles and across California who are struggling with postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, and the identity shift that comes with becoming a mother.

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What Postpartum Depression Actually Looks Like

It's not always crying. That's the version people expect. The version most women experience is harder to recognize:

• A flatness where the joy should be. You look at your baby and feel nothing, then feel devastated for feeling nothing.

• Irritability that makes you snap at your partner, your older kids, your mother. Everything feels like too much.

• Anxiety so intense you can't put the baby down, can't stop checking if they're breathing, can't leave them with anyone.

• Intrusive thoughts you're terrified to say out loud. Thoughts about harm, about dropping the baby, about something terrible happening. These thoughts don't mean you're dangerous. They mean your brain is overwhelmed and misfiring. But they feel like proof that you're broken.

• Numbness. Going through the motions of motherhood without feeling present. Feeding, changing, soothing, but not connecting.

• Rage. At your partner for not understanding. At your body for not bouncing back. At the baby for needing so much. At yourself for feeling any of this.

• A loss of identity so profound it scares you. You used to know who you were. Now you're "mom" and you don't know where the rest of you went.

 

Postpartum Anxiety

Postpartum anxiety gets less attention than postpartum depression, but it's just as common and just as debilitating.

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It looks like: constant worry that something is wrong with the baby. Inability to sleep even when exhausted. Checking and rechecking everything. A racing mind that won't shut off. Physical symptoms like heart pounding, chest tightness, nausea. A feeling that if you let your guard down for one second, something terrible will happen.

 

Postpartum anxiety often gets dismissed as "new mom worry." It's not. Normal new parent concern doesn't make you unable to function. If the anxiety is controlling your day, that's clinical and it's treatable.

 

Why You're Not Getting Help

You know something is wrong. You're not getting help because:

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You think it should pass on its own. Sometimes it does. Sometimes it doesn't. If it's been more than a few weeks and it's getting worse or not improving, waiting is not a strategy.

 

You're ashamed. You wanted this baby. You planned for this baby. Admitting you're struggling feels like admitting you can't handle motherhood. It's not. Postpartum mood disorders are medical conditions, not character failures.

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Everyone says it's normal. "Sleep deprivation is hard!" "The first three months are brutal!" "It gets better!" These responses dismiss what you're experiencing. Yes, early parenthood is hard. But what you're feeling may be beyond the normal difficulty curve, and you deserve more than being told to wait it out.

 

You don't have time. The baby needs you every minute. When would you possibly fit in therapy? Video sessions solve this. You can do therapy from your couch during naptime. No driving, no childcare, no getting dressed.

 

How I Work With Postpartum Clients

I don't tell you to take a bubble bath or practice mindfulness. If that worked, you wouldn't be here.

I'm direct and engaged. I'm not going to tell you this is a beautiful journey and you should enjoy every moment. I'm going to help you get through it honestly.

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In session, we work on what's actually happening. The mood changes and whether they need medication (I coordinate with psychiatrists and OB-GYNs). The relationship strain, because postpartum depression doesn't just affect you, it affects your marriage. The identity shift, because becoming a mother rewrites your sense of self and nobody prepares you for that. The intrusive thoughts, because naming them and understanding them is how they lose their power.

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I also work with your partner when that's helpful. Postpartum depression is isolating for both of you. Your partner is watching you struggle and doesn't know how to help. Bringing them in for a session can change the dynamic at home.

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Postpartum and Your Relationship

This is the part nobody talks about. Your marriage is under more strain than it's ever been. Sleep deprivation, shifting roles, unequal labor, loss of intimacy, resentment that builds silently on both sides.

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You're angry at your partner for not doing enough. Your partner feels shut out and useless. You're both exhausted and neither of you has the energy to talk about it. So you don't. And the distance grows.

 

If your relationship is struggling alongside the postpartum experience, that's not two separate problems. It's one problem showing up in two places. I treat both.

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I have 26+ Years of Experience

I hold a Master's degree in Child, Adolescent, and Family Therapy from USC in addition to my doctorate. I've worked with new mothers for over two decades. What I've learned: the women who recover fastest are the ones who stop performing "fine" and let someone see what's really happening. That's what I offer. A place where you don't have to pretend.

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What Clients Say

"I had the baby I always wanted and I felt nothing. I would hold her and wait for the rush of love everyone described. It didn't come. I thought I was a monster. Dr. Verchick told me I wasn't a monster. I had postpartum depression. Naming it was the first moment I felt like I might be okay." -- West Los Angeles

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"The anxiety was unbearable. I couldn't let anyone hold the baby. I couldn't sleep. I was convinced something terrible was going to happen every second of every day. Dr. Verchick helped me understand that my brain was stuck in threat mode and it wasn't my fault. The anxiety didn't disappear overnight, but it became manageable. I could breathe again." -- Beverly Hills

 

"My husband and I almost didn't survive the first year. I was depressed and angry. He was confused and resentful. We stopped talking. Dr. Verchick worked with me individually and then brought him in. She helped him understand what I was going through and helped me understand that pushing him away was making everything worse. We're a team again." -- Manhattan Beach

 

"I had intrusive thoughts about hurting my baby. I was terrified to tell anyone. I whispered it to Dr. Verchick in our second session like it was a confession. She didn't flinch. She explained what intrusive thoughts are, why they happen, and that having them doesn't make me dangerous. That conversation saved me." -- Calabasas

 

Frequently asked questions

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When should I start therapy for postpartum depression?

As soon as you recognize something isn't right. There's no minimum waiting period. If you're struggling at two weeks or two months or ten months postpartum, that's a valid time to start.

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I'm still pregnant and already anxious. Can you help?

Yes. Perinatal anxiety and depression can start during pregnancy. Starting therapy before delivery means you have support in place when the baby arrives. It's one of the smartest things you can do.

 

Do you prescribe medication?

No. I'm a psychologist, not a psychiatrist. But I coordinate closely with psychiatrists and OB-GYNs for clients who need medication. Many women benefit from therapy and medication together. I help you make that decision without judgment.

 

I had postpartum depression with my first baby. Will it happen again?

You're at higher risk, which is exactly why getting support in place before or immediately after delivery matters. If it does happen again, we catch it early and treat it before it escalates.

 

My baby is older now but I never dealt with the postpartum depression. Is it too late?

No. Untreated postpartum depression doesn't always resolve on its own. Some women carry it for years without realizing it. If you still feel like something shifted after your baby was born and never shifted back, it's worth exploring.