Perinatal Mental Health Therapy in Waldwick, NJ | Waypoint Psychological Services

There are moments when the world is forced to confront just how complex, vulnerable, and misunderstood the postpartum period can be. Highly publicized tragedies involving new mothers have sparked difficult conversations about what happens when severe mental health symptoms go unnoticed, untreated, or misunderstood.

But perinatal mental health is not only about the most extreme situations.

For many parents, the struggle looks much quieter: intrusive thoughts that feel frightening or shameful, anxiety that makes it impossible to relax, grief following a pregnancy loss, fear after years of infertility, overwhelming perfectionism, difficulty bonding with a baby, or the nagging feeling that everyone else seems to be handling parenthood better.

These experiences deserve attention, compassion, and professional support.

At Waypoint Psychological Services in Waldwick, New Jersey, we believe perinatal mental health care should begin long before a baby arrives—and should continue for as long as a parent needs it.

What Is Perinatal Mental Health?

Perinatal mental health refers to emotional and psychological well-being during pregnancy and the postpartum period. But in clinical practice, the experience can extend far beyond the traditional definition of "pregnancy and postpartum."

The journey toward parenthood may begin with trying to conceive, fertility treatments, infertility, pregnancy loss, or years of uncertainty before a positive pregnancy test ever appears.

This is why we think about matrescence—the profound psychological, emotional, physical, and identity transition that can accompany becoming a mother.

Matrescence is not a single moment. It is a process.

A person can be deeply grateful for a pregnancy and still feel anxious. They can love their baby and still struggle with intrusive thoughts. They can have a healthy baby and still experience trauma from pregnancy or delivery. They can feel excitement and grief at the same time.

There is no single "right" way to experience this transition.

Perinatal Mental Health Is More Than Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression is an important part of the conversation, but it is only one piece of perinatal mental health.

Parents may experience:

Perinatal depression, including persistent sadness, hopelessness, numbness, irritability, or loss of interest.
Perinatal anxiety, including excessive worry, racing thoughts, physical tension, or an inability to "turn off" the mind.
Postpartum OCD, which can involve unwanted, intrusive thoughts or images that are deeply distressing.
Birth or reproductive trauma, including difficult deliveries, medical complications, traumatic fertility experiences, or previous pregnancy loss.
Infertility-related distress, particularly when someone has spent months or years navigating treatments, uncertainty, or repeated disappointment.
Pregnancy after loss, which can bring an entirely different form of anxiety and hypervigilance.
Grief following miscarriage, stillbirth, infant death, or termination for medical reasons (TFMR).
Postpartum psychosis, a rare but serious psychiatric emergency requiring immediate professional and medical intervention.
Adjustment and identity struggles, as individuals and couples navigate changes in relationships, work, independence, body image, and family roles.

And perinatal mental health is not only about mothers.

Dads and non-birthing parents can experience significant anxiety, depression, trauma, and adjustment difficulties as well. Becoming a parent changes a person's identity and responsibilities, regardless of who gave birth.

Why Specialized Perinatal Therapy Matters

Perinatal mental health requires more than simply applying general therapy techniques to someone who happens to be pregnant or postpartum.

The reproductive journey can involve medical appointments, hormonal and physiological changes, fertility treatments, loss, complicated feelings about one's body, changing relationships, sleep deprivation, feeding decisions, birth experiences, and enormous shifts in identity.

A therapist who understands these nuances can help clients explore both the psychological symptoms and the context surrounding them.

At Waypoint Psychological Services, our perinatal team has intentionally developed specialized training and supervision in this area. Three perinatal specialists are part of our practice, all of whom have completed Postpartum Support International (PSI) training, with ongoing supervision from Dr. Kristina Vande Vrede, PMH-C.

PSI's Perinatal Mental Health Certification program is designed to establish professional education and competency in supporting families experiencing perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.

Dr. Vande Vrede is a clinical psychologist whose specialty areas include perinatal mental health, fertility, fetal loss and stillbirth, traumatic reproductive medical experiences, fertility complications, and mother-baby attachment. She received her PMH-C certification from PSI in 2021. Sometimes the most helpful question is not simply, "What's wrong?"

It is:

"What have you been through?"

Support for Every Stage of the Reproductive Journey

At Waypoint, we work with women and families across the full spectrum of the perinatal experience.

That may include someone who is:

Trying to conceive (TTC). The uncertainty of trying to become pregnant can become emotionally consuming, particularly when conception takes longer than expected.

Experiencing infertility. Infertility can involve grief, frustration, isolation, medical stress, financial pressure, and a profound sense of lost control.

Going through IVF. Assisted reproductive technology can bring hope and tremendous emotional strain at the same time. The experience can become particularly complicated when previous treatment or pregnancy loss is part of the story.

Pregnant after infertility or loss. A positive pregnancy test does not necessarily erase fear. For someone who has experienced infertility or miscarriage, pregnancy can feel less like carefree anticipation and more like waiting for something to go wrong.

Postpartum. The transition after birth can bring depression, anxiety, OCD symptoms, relationship changes, identity shifts, sleep disruption, and feelings that are difficult to reconcile with expectations of new motherhood.

Experiencing pregnancy or infant loss. Miscarriage, stillbirth, infant death, and TFMR can create profound grief and trauma. There is no expiration date on that grief, and therapy can provide a place to process it without judgment.

Experiencing postpartum anxiety, OCD, or psychosis. These symptoms deserve knowledgeable, compassionate care. Particularly with postpartum psychosis, immediate psychiatric and medical evaluation is essential.

And sometimes, the person who needs support is the dad.

Perinatal Therapy in Waldwick, NJ and Surrounding Communities

Waypoint Psychological Services is located in Waldwick, NJ, conveniently serving families throughout Bergen County and surrounding communities, including Wyckoff, Ridgewood, Allendale, Paramus, Fair Lawn, Glen Rock, Hawthorne, and Oakland.

We offer both in-person and virtual therapy, making specialized perinatal support more accessible during a period when getting out of the house can sometimes feel like an accomplishment in itself.

For general perinatal concerns—including pregnancy, postpartum adjustment, anxiety, OCD, grief, loss, and life transitions, Samantha Voltmer, LSW offers compassionate, individualized support. Samantha specializes in anxiety, depression, OCD, grief and loss, and perinatal mental health and uses an integrative, collaborative approach.

For individuals navigating infertility and IVF, Marissa Eiseman is part of our specialized perinatal care team, with a particular focus on supporting the unique emotional experience surrounding fertility treatment and assisted reproduction.

A New Support Group for IVF Pregnancies Is Coming January 2027

Waypoint Psychological Services will also be launching a group specifically for newly pregnant women who have been through IVF.

This population deserves specialized attention.

Pregnancy after infertility can be joyful, but it can also be complicated by fear, hypervigilance, previous pregnancy loss, difficult fertility treatments, medical trauma, or the feeling that it is somehow unsafe to become too excited.

A group setting can offer something individual therapy cannot always provide: the experience of sitting alongside people who genuinely understand.

You don't have to explain why you are checking for symptoms constantly.

You don't have to explain why seeing a pregnancy announcement can bring complicated feelings.

You don't have to explain why a long-awaited pregnancy can still feel scary.

Sometimes being understood is therapeutic in itself.

You Don't Have to Wait Until Things Feel Unmanageable

One of the most important messages we want families to hear is this:

You do not have to be in crisis to deserve perinatal mental health support.

Therapy can be preventative. It can provide a place to process a difficult fertility experience before pregnancy, prepare for the transition into parenthood, work through fears during pregnancy, or make sense of emotions after birth.

And when symptoms are more serious, getting help early matters.

If you or someone you love is experiencing severe confusion, hallucinations, delusions, extreme agitation, or thoughts of harming oneself or a baby, seek immediate emergency medical care. Postpartum psychosis is a psychiatric emergency and should never be managed alone.

For everything from the quieter struggles to more significant mental health concerns, specialized support can make a difference.

Perinatal Mental Health Support in Bergen County

Parenthood does not follow a straight line.

Neither does the journey toward becoming a parent.

At Waypoint Psychological Services, we understand that fertility, pregnancy, birth, loss, and early parenthood can bring joy, grief, fear, hope, uncertainty, and profound identity changes—sometimes all at once.

Our goal is not to tell you how you should feel.

It is to create a space where you can be honest about how you actually feel.

If you are looking for a perinatal therapist in Waldwick, NJ, or specialized support for infertility, IVF, pregnancy, postpartum anxiety, postpartum OCD, pregnancy loss, stillbirth, TFMR, infant loss, or the transition into parenthood, our team is here to help.