ZOLA COUNSELING
Maternal Mental Health and Perinatal Therapy In Maryland & DC
We provide maternal and perinatal mental health therapy for Black women and birthing parents with culturally responsive care during pregnancy and postpartum. Services are offered virtually across Maryland and Washington, DC supporting postpartum anxiety, postpartum depression, birth trauma, infertility, and relationship concerns.
Does this sound familiar?
You may feel pressure to be strong or “hold it together,” even while feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or emotionally disconnected inside. Maybe you’re carrying the weight of caregiving, cultural expectations, systemic stress, or past experiences while trying to show up for your baby and your family.
YOU MIGHT BE EXPERIENCING THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS:
Mood changes
Intrusive or unwanted thoughts
Rage, irritability or anger
Feeling overwhelmed
Fear of being judged as a bad parent
Thoughts of wanting to escape or disappear
Identity shifts
Birth trauma
Fertility or loss
Relationship strain
Difficulty bonding with baby
Racing thoughts
Excessive guilt or self-blame
You Deserve Support That Actually Helps You Feel Different.
Maternal mental health therapy provides a supportive, culturally responsive space to slow down and feel understood during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
Therapy can help with emotional regulation, practical coping skills for anxiety and overwhelm, and navigating changes in partner relationships and communication.
It also supports setting boundaries with family or community expectations and processing medical, fertility, pregnancy, or birth experiences—especially when those experiences were stressful, traumatic, or impacted by systemic bias.
You deserve care that honors your identity, lived experience, and the realities you’re navigating.
Affirming Maternal Mental Health Care for Black Women
If you identify as a Black woman or birthing parent, pregnancy and postpartum may carry layers beyond the physical and emotional changes of birth.
You may be navigating racism within medical systems, holding medical mistrust shaped by lived or generational experiences, and feeling pressure to remain strong or self-sacrificing. Many Black birthing parents are also balancing caregiving expectations and roles within extended family or community networks.
Our approach to maternal mental health therapy is liberation-focused, anti-oppressive, and culturally responsive. We center your voice, validate your lived experience, and support healing that allows you to rest, set boundaries, and prioritize your well-being—without needing to explain, justify, or minimize your truth.
our approach
Maternal Mental Health Care Designed for Individuals and Couples
Therapy with us is warm, collaborative, and nonjudgmental. From the first session, the focus is on helping you feel safe, understood, and supported in what you’re carrying. Our therapists bring a person-centered, culturally responsive approach with specialized training in perinatal mental health, supporting both individuals and couples through emotional regulation, coping skills, changing partner dynamics, communication, boundary-setting, and processing pregnancy, birth, or postpartum experiences at your pace.
Sessions are 50–55 minutes and offered virtually. You’re welcome to bring your baby to session, and partners are encouraged to participate when relationship support feels helpful. Whether you’re seeking individual therapy, couples therapy, or both, care is flexible, collaborative, and grounded in what feels most supportive for your family.
Meet Our Maternal & Perinatal Mental Health Therapists
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Samantha Kendall
Licensed in Maryland
TelehealthSamantha works with individuals and couples to navigate pregnancy and postpartum transitions with greater clarity and compassion. Her work focuses on perinatal mental health, emotional regulation, coping skills and relationship dynamics.
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Asia Rodriquez
Licensed in DC, Maryland, Virginia & Puerto Rico
TelehealthAsia works with individuals using a trauma-informed, culturally responsive approach to perinatal mental health. She supports clients in processing difficult medical and birth experiences while rebuilding a sense of safety and emotional resilience.
Helpful Reads for Pregnancy & Postpartum Mental Health
Maternal Mental Health FAQs
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Perinatal mental health refers to emotional and psychological well-being during pregnancy and the postpartum period. It includes concerns such as postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, birth trauma, infertility-related stress, and adjustment to parenthood.
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Postpartum depression symptoms may include persistent sadness, low mood, loss of interest or pleasure, emotional numbness, guilt, difficulty bonding with your baby, changes in sleep or appetite, and feeling overwhelmed or hopeless.
Postpartum anxiety often involves excessive worry, racing thoughts, panic attacks, fear about your baby’s safety, difficulty relaxing or sleeping, irritability, and physical symptoms such as chest tightness or shortness of breath.
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If symptoms feel overwhelming, persistent, or are interfering with your ability to function, rest, or enjoy daily life, it may be helpful to seek professional support.
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Yes. Babies are welcome to attend sessions, and therapy is designed to accommodate the realities of pregnancy, postpartum recovery, and early parenthood.
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Clients must be physically located in a state where their therapist is licensed at the time of the session. You can view each therapist’s licensure and the states they are licensed in on their individual profile pages to ensure a good fit before scheduling. Most of our therapists are licensed in Washington, DC or Maryland.
