Rhea Dempsey | Counselling Pregnancy & Birth

Pregnancy and birth involve profound changes. Your body alters. Relationships develop in unexpected ways. Your attitude to the world around you undergoes a deep shift. Confusing and ambivalent feelings can surface, filling you with glorious expectations but also confronting you with fears about life and death, and your ability to face the challenges of birthing and parenting.

Having a child can exacerbate long-standing life issues; challenge our self-perception, or reveal strains within our relationships. Counselling during pregnancy can bring to consciousness and heal patterns that may affect your birth and parenting experiences.

Counselling post-birth can enrich your relationship and increase your delight in parenting. Many women experience distress after childbirth and research suggests that one in every 20 women experience traumatic stress. Psychological birth debriefing can release trauma-based distress; support any grief from loss or unmet expectations, or simply fulfill the need to understand what happened.

More generally, applying the archetypal motif of birth and renewal to any of life’s pain, wounds or dilemmas can open up new possibilities.

Counselling services

I offer one-on-one and couples counselling in person and online for:

Pregnancy and birth preparation counselling
Birth debriefing
General counselling
Couples’ counselling.

'I had been emotionally traumatised following the birth of my son and while I was happy to be pregnant again, I was overwhelmed with fear about the birth of my second child. Rhea was recommended to me by both my maternal child health nurse and my midwife. I found the debriefing/counselling session very helpful. As well as reassuring me that my reaction was common and talking me through my memories in order to gain some clarity on my fears, most importantly, I felt that Rhea helped me to do some thinking in my own time, which enabled me to come up with a plan to stay calm and relaxed during the labour and birth of my second son’

'Neil and I are so thankful for the time you shared with us to do our birth debrief. It has had an amazing impact, more than we could ever have imagined or expected. So much so that we talk about it frequently still!'

'The debriefing we did helped me surrender this time. I sang the song of the cervix through every contraction. This labour healed the last one.'

'In my work, as an experienced birth centre midwife, I have regarded Rhea as a valuable resource and recommended her services to women for independent advice and counselling'

Bookings

Appointments are available in person and online at Fertile Ground Health Group (Tuesdays) and MAMA Midwifery Practice (Wednesdays). Please book via the venue.

Tuesdays: Fertile Ground Health Group

Fertile Ground Health Group

33 Smith Street

Fitzroy, Melbourne

Email: reception@fertileground.com.au
Telephone: 03 9419 9988

Wednesdays: MAMA Midwifery Practice

MAMA Midwifery Practice
38 Gatehouse Drive
Kensington, Melbourne

birth educator and author

Counselling and birth debriefing

Counselling services

Bookings

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