Q&A About Therapy with Jessie Levinson
Therapy isn’t just about finding relief, it’s about building a deeper understanding of yourself and creating the emotional flexibility to navigate life with more confidence and compassion. In this Q&A, Empowered Therapy therapist Jessie Levinson shares how she helps clients work through anxiety, burnout, perfectionism, identity shifts, and relationship challenges with curiosity and care. She explores the connection between past experiences and present patterns, the importance of self-compassion in healing, and how learning to regulate emotions and set boundaries can lead to more authentic relationships and lasting personal growth.
How do you support clients navigating pregnancy, postpartum, or major family transitions when everything feels emotionally overwhelming?
Answer: Navigating pregnancy, postpartum, or any major family transition comes with its unique challenges and can be a very overwhelming time. I meet my clients with empathy and kindness and create a non-judgmental environment in which they can share their feelings openly. I encourage my clients to extend that same compassion and kindness to themselves and remind clients that there is no right or wrong way to experience these transitions and emotions that follow.
I try to support my clients by breaking up tasks into smaller steps. When everything feels emotionally overwhelming, it is important to break things down and make small goals, even if that is just taking a shower every night. I encourage clients to stop and acknowledge every small win, even if it feels silly or insignificant. During these significant transitions, it is important to make space for these wins and to engage in self care, even if it looks different than it did before.
What does perinatal mental health therapy look like when someone is dealing with anxiety, depression, or identity shifts after having a baby?
Answer: The postpartum period can be a very overwhelming time. The hormone fluctuations, lack of sleep, and adjustment to having a new baby at home can contribute to mental health struggles during this time. It is a massive adjustment period. I validate my clients in this and provide psychoeducation on postpartum mood and anxiety disorders. I try to help my clients feel less alone, as experiencing mental health struggles during the postpartum period is common, but still not talked about or validated enough in our society.
I encourage my clients to be kind to themselves. I focus a lot on my clients’ support systems, as the postpartum period can feel very isolating. I encourage clients to lean on those in their corner and also encourage clients to build their support systems within their communities, especially with those who are also newly postpartum. Having a strong support system during the postpartum period is key.
Additionally, I work with clients as they are navigating this new period in their lives and ways to continue to incorporate self care. I help clients explore and process these new and changing identities and support clients as they bring parts of themselves into this new chapter.
How do you integrate somatic or body-based approaches into talk therapy for clients who feel disconnected from themselves after birth or trauma?
Answer: I seek to create a safe and calming space for clients to get back in touch with their body after experiencing a trauma. I approach this work with kindness and empathy and go at a pace that feels safe and comfortable for the client. When we experience trauma, it is important to rebuild our sense of safety. This can start with our connection to our body. I incorporate breathwork, mindfulness, and grounding techniques into sessions. I engage the five senses in this work as a way to ground oneself, such as focusing on smells, sounds, and touch. I encourage clients to engage in what feels most useful and beneficial to them and provide the space for clients to safely explore this in session. For clients who have experienced birth trauma, I often introduce these somatic techniques as things that can also be done with their baby, such as a body scan with themself and with their baby. This can also help deepen the attachment and bond between parent and child. I do this in increments that feel manageable for clients and can be done in short intervals, especially for clients who are new parents and may not have a lot of time to practice these techniques outside of session.
What role does family systems work play when clients are navigating relationship stress during the perinatal or postpartum period?
Answer: During the perinatal and postpartum periods, family systems play an important role. A baby greatly impacts a family’s ecosystem and a family systems approach treats the family as a unit as opposed to each individual separately. This places greater emphasis on the relationship between parents, extended family, in-laws, etc.
Communication, expectation setting, and splitting of roles are all important parts of the postpartum period and can help foster a strong parenting alliance/partnership. This is key when navigating a significant life change. This can also include boundary setting with in-laws, divvying up not only the physical tasks of having a baby but also the emotional labor, and overall supports the family unit as a whole.
How do you approach grief and loss in the context of miscarriage, birth trauma, or major life transitions?
Answer: Grief and loss are ever present in perinatal loss, perinatal complications, and major life transitions in general. I explore what this loss and grief may mean for my clients and how it may show up in their day to day. I encourage clients to make space for the grief they are experiencing and call attention to losses that may not be as defined as a physical death, such as a hospitalization during pregnancy, a neonatal intensive care unit admission, or leaving a job to take on more parental responsibilities.
I encourage clients to acknowledge and grieve these losses and transitions and find ways to honor what was lost, while making space for what may be gained. Loss can be very emotionally taxing and draining and I bring a lot of empathy and encouragement to clients, emphasize the importance of community, and encourage meaning making and rituals if that feels helpful. I operate from a framework that there is no right way to grieve and I create a space where clients can openly explore this and process their loss.
How do ACT and attachment-based approaches show up in your work with new parents or caregivers?
Answer: ACT and attachment theory both show up in different ways when I am working with new parents or caregivers. I use ACT as a guide to help new parents adjust to their new identity and role, while not trying to change or get rid of the thoughts and feelings that may accompany this time period. I encourage new parents to observe thoughts they may be having about their role as a new parent or judgments about themselves they may be making with flexibility and openness. I encourage parents to become more acquainted with their values as a new parent and to move away from the idea of being a “perfect parent”.
Attachment theory can also provide helpful guidance and perspective when clients become new parents. Oftentimes clients are drawing from their own childhood experiences and what their attachment was like with their own caregivers. This can be a time of healing and interrupting patterns or styles generationally that no longer serve them. Along with ACT, I emphasize repair and “good enough” parenting over perfectionism and encourage my clients to lean into that as they navigate this time period.