Prenatal Therapy in Brantford
Support for Expecting Moms
Root & Bloom Therapy Services offers prenatal and perinatal counselling in Brantford for expecting parents navigating pregnancy anxiety, fertility and reproductive trauma, pregnancy loss, birth fears, identity shifts, and the emotional transition into parenthood. Sessions are led using EMDR, Internal Family Systems, somatic therapy, Emotion-Focused Therapy, and more with Becca Staley, RP(Q) and Jodie Muir, MSW, with morning, afternoon, evening, and weekend availability to fit around work, appointments, and everything else that comes with pregnancy. In-person, walk-and-talk, and virtual sessions are available across Brantford, Brant County, and Ontario.
Prenatal Counselling for the Parts of Pregnancy No One Talks About
Pregnancy can be exciting, emotional, overwhelming, and complicated, sometimes all at the same time.
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You may have imagined feeling excited when you saw those two lines, but instead you're anxious, scared, overwhelmed, or constantly waiting for something to go wrong. You might be checking symptoms, worrying about your baby's health, struggling to enjoy the pregnancy, or feeling like everyone expects you to be happy when that's not how you actually feel.
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Maybe you're excited to become a parent but grieving the life you're leaving behind.
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Maybe you're struggling with changes to your body, your relationship, your identity, or your sense of control.
Or maybe this pregnancy comes after infertility, pregnancy loss, or a difficult reproductive experience, and what should feel like a happy time is bringing up fear, grief, or memories you weren't expecting.
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Prenatal counselling isn't about making yourself feel positive about pregnancy. It's a space to make room for everything you're actually feeling, process what you've been through, and prepare emotionally for a major life transition.
Who Prenatal Therapy is For
Prenatal counselling at Root & Bloom is for:
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Pregnant clients experiencing anxiety, fear, or overwhelm
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Expecting parents struggling to enjoy or feel connected to their pregnancy
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Parents worried about their baby's health or development
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Clients experiencing pregnancy after infertility or pregnancy loss
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Parents navigating fertility loss or reproductive trauma
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Clients experiencing fear or anxiety about birth
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Parents processing a previous traumatic birth or difficult pregnancy
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Clients struggling with changes to their identity during pregnancy
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Parents worried about how becoming a parent will affect their relationship
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Clients feeling overwhelmed by the transition into parenthood
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Parents experiencing depression or difficult emotions during pregnancy
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Clients who feel pressure to be happy or grateful when they're struggling emotionally
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Parents wanting emotional support as they prepare for their baby's arrival
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You don't need to be in crisis to seek prenatal counselling. You also don't need to have a diagnosis.
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Sometimes you simply know that something feels different, harder, or heavier than you expected.
What Does Prenatal Counselling Look Like?
There isn't one way prenatal counselling should look. ​ At Root & Bloom, therapy is tailored to what you're experiencing, what you've been through, and what feels useful to you.​
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We draw from several evidence-informed approaches, including:
Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR can be helpful when you're carrying the impact of pregnancy loss, infertility, reproductive trauma, a previous difficult birth, medical experiences, or other events that still feel emotionally charged. It can also be used to work through specific fears or experiences that are affecting how you're experiencing your current pregnancy.
Emotion-Focused Therapy
Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) helps you make sense of emotions rather than simply trying to get rid of them. Together, we can explore what your emotions are communicating to you and what you may be needing underneath them.
DBT-Informed Approaches
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) skills can provide practical tools for managing intense emotions, navigating overwhelm, improving communication, and getting through particularly difficult moments.
Internal Family
Systems (IFS)
Pregnancy can bring out emotions and reactions that feel unfamiliar or even surprising. IFS helps you understand these with more curiosity and compassion, while exploring the needs and experiences underneath them. The goal isn't to get rid of difficult emotions, but to understand them and create more space to respond differently.
Somatic Therapy
Pregnancy can bring a heightened awareness of your body, particularly when you've experienced previous medical trauma, pregnancy loss, or reproductive challenges. Somatic approaches can help you notice and work with the physical responses connected to stress, anxiety, fear, and overwhelm.
Attachment-Based Therapy
Pregnancy can bring up a lot about relationships with your partner, your parents, and more. Attachment-based work can help you understand these patterns and build more secure, connected relationships.
Meet Your Prenatal Therapists
Becca Staley, MACP
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
Becca Staley is a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) who works with individuals navigating perinatal mental health concerns, anxiety, trauma, and major life transitions. Her approach is warm, collaborative, and grounded in the belief that therapy should feel like a place where you can be honest about what's actually happening — without judgment or pressure to have everything figured out. Becca incorporates approaches including EMDR, Internal Family Systems, somatic therapy, attachment-based therapy, and emotion-focused work. She has a particular interest in supporting clients through pregnancy, postpartum adjustment, birth trauma, fertility loss, and reproductive trauma. Her work recognizes that the transition into parenthood doesn't happen in isolation. Previous experiences with pregnancy, infertility, loss, medical care, relationships, and family can all shape how someone experiences becoming a parent.
Jodie Muir, MSW
Registered Social Worker
Jodie Muir is a Registered Social Worker and the owner of Root & Bloom Therapy Services. She supports individuals and couples navigating perinatal mental health concerns, anxiety, depression, trauma, relationship changes, and major identity transitions. Jodie's approach is warm, direct, collaborative, and rooted in the belief that emotions aren't problems to be fixed. Instead, they can provide important information about what you need, what you've experienced, and what matters to you. She draws from approaches including Emotion-Focused Therapy, Internal Family Systems, attachment-based therapy, Motivational Interviewing, strengths-based approaches, and trauma-informed practice. Jodie has a particular interest in postpartum anxiety, postpartum depression, birth trauma, reproductive trauma, fertility loss, identity changes, and the complicated emotional experience of becoming a parent. Her goal isn't to give you another list of things you're supposed to be doing as a mom. It's to create space for you to understand yourself, process your experiences, and figure out what you need.
Flexible Scheduling & Availability
Finding time for therapy can feel like one more thing to fit into an already very full schedule when it comes to prenatal care.​ That's why Root & Bloom offers morning, afternoon, evening, and weekend appointments.
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Pregnancy already comes with appointments, work, family responsibilities, and a growing list of things to prepare for. Your therapy appointments don't have to add more stress to the schedule.
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We offer flexible scheduling so you can find a time that works around your life, rather than trying to fit your life around therapy.
Choose The Format That Works For You
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In-Person Therapy
Meet with us in our Brantford office for private, face-to-face therapy in a comfortable setting that doesn't feel like one of the many medical appointments you have during pregnancy.
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Virtual Therapy
Prefer to stay home for your appointments? Virtual sessions are available across Ontario, making therapy accessible where you can feel more comfortable in your own space.
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Walk-and-Talk Therapy
Sometimes sitting across from a therapist doesn't feel like the right fit. Walk-and-talk sessions offer the opportunity to move your body and talk while spending time outdoors.
Our Rates
50-minute session
$160
$80
25-minute session
Supporting Moms Through Melissa for Moms
We are proud to partner with Melissa for Moms, a local nonprofit founded with the goal of providing resources for parents struggling with postpartum depression and/or psychosis.
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We believe that access to support shouldn't depend on whether someone knows where to look for it. Through this partnership, we're able to connect with local parents and contribute to a broader network of resources for families during pregnancy and early parenthood.​
Frequently Asked Questions
What is prenatal counselling?
Prenatal counselling provides emotional support during pregnancy and the transition into parenthood. You don't need to be experiencing a mental health crisis to benefit from therapy during pregnancy. Prenatal counselling can help with anxiety, depression, birth fears, pregnancy after loss, fertility or reproductive trauma, identity changes, relationship changes, and the many emotions that can come with becoming a parent.
Can I start therapy during pregnancy?
Yes. You can start prenatal counselling at any point during pregnancy. Some clients come to therapy early in pregnancy because they're struggling with anxiety or a previous loss, while others seek support later in pregnancy as birth and parenthood begin to feel more immediate.
Can therapy help with pregnancy anxiety?
Yes. Pregnancy can bring a lot of uncertainty, particularly when you're worried about your baby's health, experiencing physical symptoms, or have previously experienced pregnancy loss or fertility challenges. Therapy can help you understand what's driving your anxiety, work through difficult emotions, and develop ways to navigate uncertainty without letting fear take over your pregnancy.
Can you help with fear of childbirth?
Yes. Fear of childbirth can range from general worry about the unknown to intense anxiety connected to a previous traumatic birth, medical experience, or other reproductive trauma. Therapy can help you understand where the fear is coming from, process previous experiences, and feel more prepared for the emotional aspects of birth.
Can prenatal therapy help if I've experienced pregnancy loss or infertility?
Absolutely. A new pregnancy after infertility or pregnancy loss can bring complicated emotions. You may feel excited and grateful while also feeling scared, guarded, or unable to fully trust that things will be okay. Therapy can provide space to process previous experiences while making room for whatever you're feeling about your current pregnancy.
Can EMDR be used during pregnancy?
EMDR may be an appropriate therapy approach during pregnancy, depending on your individual circumstances and what you're hoping to work through. It can be particularly helpful when you're carrying unresolved trauma from fertility treatment, pregnancy loss, a previous birth, medical experiences, or other traumatic events. Book a free consultation with Becca and she will discuss whether EMDR is appropriate for you and tailor treatment to your needs.
What if I'm excited about my pregnancy but still struggling emotionally?
You don't have to choose between being grateful for your pregnancy and acknowledging that you're struggling. Pregnancy can bring happiness, fear, grief, excitement, resentment, uncertainty, and many other emotions, sometimes all in the same day. Therapy provides space for those feelings without judgment.
Do I need a diagnosis to come to prenatal therapy?
No. You don't need a diagnosis or a specific mental health condition to seek prenatal counselling. You may simply feel overwhelmed, anxious, disconnected, or unsure about the transition into parenthood. Therapy can be helpful whenever you feel like you could use some support.
Can prenatal therapy help with changes in my relationship?
Yes. Pregnancy can change the way you relate to your partner and can bring up conversations about responsibilities, intimacy, communication, finances, parenting, and the kind of family you want to create. Individual therapy can give you space to understand your own emotions and needs, while couples therapy may be appropriate when you'd like to work on these changes together. If you're interested in couples therapy, book a free consultation with Jodie.
What happens during the first prenatal therapy session?
Your first session is an opportunity to talk about what's bringing you to therapy, what you've been experiencing, and what you'd like support with. Your therapist will get to know you and work with you to identify where you'd like to focus. You don't need to arrive with everything figured out, and you won't be expected to know which therapy approach you need. We'll figure that out together.
Do you offer prenatal counselling virtually?
Yes. Virtual prenatal counselling is available throughout Ontario. We also offer in-person sessions in Brantford and walk-and-talk therapy for clients who prefer to meet outdoors.
How much does prenatal counselling cost?
Individual therapy sessions are $160 for 50 minutes or $80 for 25 minutes.
Do you offer evening and weekend prenatal counselling appointments?
Yes. Root & Bloom offers morning, afternoon, evening, and weekend appointments. We understand that pregnancy doesn't always fit neatly into a 9-to-5 schedule, particularly when you're balancing work, medical appointments, family responsibilities, and preparing for a baby.
How do I know whether Becca or Jodie is the right therapist for me?
Both Becca and Jodie work with perinatal mental health, anxiety, trauma, and the transition into parenthood, but their individual approaches and areas of focus may be a little different. If you're unsure who would be the best fit, you're welcome to book a free 15-minute consultation with each of us so we can talk about what you're looking for and help you decide who may be the right fit.