Becoming Mum
'Becoming Mum' is a six-week, therapist-led postnatal support programme where you can talk honestly about your experience of motherhood, connect with other mums and make space for your own emotional wellbeing.
Who is the course for?
The 'Becoming Mum' course is for mums with babies up to around 6 months.
You do not need to have a diagnosis or be experiencing a mental-health crisis to join the programme but simply need to be openminded and non-judgemental of others' experiences.
Each course runs with 6-8 mums and your baby is welcome to attend with you should you wish.
What will I gain from it?
Six weeks of therapeutic support, connection, and space for you and your baby. Over the length of the course, you will have the opportunity to:
- Feel less alone and more understood
- Make sense of your transition into motherhood
- Talk honestly without judgement or pressure
- Develop greater self-compassion
- Build confidence in yourself as a mother
- Connect with other women with young babies
The sessions were instrumental in fostering positive changes, and I now feel more empowered and capable of navigating life’s challenges with a newfound sense of control. Emma’s expertise and the structured approach of integrative therapy has proven to be invaluable assets in enhancing my overall thought process and being able to manage certain situations. Thank you so much Emma!
What will we explore?
Week 1 — My Journey Into Motherhood
The programme will begin gently, encouraging you to connect with other participants whilst creating a safe, supportive space to explore your journey into motherhood. You will have the opportunity to reflect on your pregnancy, birth and early experiences of becoming a Mum.
Sharing is always your choice; this is a gentle reflection and meaning-making session rather than birth-trauma processing.
Week 2 — The Motherhood I Imagined
Many of us enter motherhood with a strong image in our minds of what it will look like and how it will feel to be a Mum. The reality doesn’t always measure up.
During the second week, we will explore the expectations you may have carried into motherhood and how these compare with your reality. We’ll begin to consider 'matrescence' — the transition into becoming a mother — including changes to your identity, relationships and sense of self.
Week 3 — The Mum I Had, The Mum I Am
Week three introduces the concept of attachment and will allow us to explore how your early life experiences may be showing up in the way that you parent. We will explore the messages you may have learnt about emotions and look at your needs growing up, and how these may influence the way motherhood feels for you now. We’ll also consider bonding with your baby, the pressure to get it ‘right’, and why being a good mum doesn’t mean being a perfect one.
Week 4 — When Motherhood Feels Too Much
Having a baby can bring enormous love alongside a WHOLE new level of responsibility, worry and mental load. Week four will see us explore anxiety, fear and the changes that can happen to your nervous system after becoming a mum, as well as the strange loneliness that can exist even when you’re rarely alone. We’ll consider your support, relationships and what it means to have — and sometimes need to build — your own village.
Week 5 — My Body, My Boundaries, My Needs
During week five, we will consider the changes made to our body by becoming a mum. Perhaps we no longer recognise the body in the mirror anymore, or dislike it even. We’ll explore body image, physical change and what it can feel like when your body no longer feels entirely your own. We’ll also consider being ‘touched out’, rest, intimacy, boundaries and the often difficult question of how your needs can exist alongside your baby’s.
Week 6 — The Mum I’m Becoming
In our final week, we’ll bring together what you’ve discovered throughout the programme. We’ll explore the idea of the ‘perfect mum’, the expectations and ‘shoulds’ you may be carrying, and where these messages came from. You’ll consider what you want to keep, what you’re ready to let go of and the values you want to take forward as you continue becoming the mum— and woman — you want to be.
Practical details
The next course will run as follows;
| Dates | 3rd Nov - 8th Dec |
|---|---|
| Time | Tuesdays, 10:00 - 11:30 |
| Location | Packington Memorial Hall |
| Cost | £150 |
If you are interested, please email me and I will contact you to arrange a free 20-minute introductory call to consider whether the 'Becoming Mum' programme is right for you, and to answer any of your questions.
