Our Story
Healing Circle Counseling was born out of my own journey of healing after a first trimester miscarriage and the subsequent birth of my son. I struggled with postpartum anxiety and depression. I felt alone, scared and needed support. I scoured the internet for providers who worked specifically with traumatic births. I could not find a clinician in our area who specialized in this niche. I then looked for clinicians who specialized in perinatal mood disorders and only found three in our area at the time; only one took insurance.
I reached out to an organization that offered a Fourth Trimester class as I was desperate to find support. The worker sensed my desperation in my voicemail and called me to come in for an individual session. I sat in her office hoping she could help me only to hear, I do not have any experience with someone who’s child was in the NICU and had brain bleeds. She gave me the Happiest Baby on the Block video, I paid her seventy-five dollars and I left. I cried all the way home.
Part of my healing journey began by signing up for the Birth Story Listening course through Birthing from Within with Pam England. I wanted to be able to sit with women as they told their birth story in a way that honored them. Then I took birth doula training through ToLabor. I wanted to understand why I was “broken” and why I was not able to have the beautiful birth I had desired. I wanted to learn and understand pregnancy, birth and postpartum from a place of compassion. I learned that all parts of pregnancy, birth and postpartum are hard. That most women struggle with some part of this stage of life. Whether it be fertility, pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding or mental health. I learned that there is not a one size fits all to birth and that it is all beautiful in it’s own way. There is no “right” way to birth a baby and that there is no shame if your birth does not “turn out” the way you wanted it to. This realization helped me heal from my own birth experience.
I received additional training from Postpartum Support International so that I could continue to provide help to families who needed support in the pregnancy, birth and postpartum stage of life. Sitting with new parents when they are most vulnerable is a privilege.
In my journey of helping clients through their childbearing years I encountered a lot of loss. I received training in perinatal loss through the MISS Foundation so I could help bereaved parents navigate their grief. Being able to sit with and hold space with the bereaved is an honor.
Many clients who experienced loss endured fertility issues. I received Fertility Counseling Postgraduate Course (FPCP) training to help those who struggled with fertility.
My hope is that no one feels alone in their healing journey. Here, you will be seen, you will be heard, and you will be nurtured. It has been my life journey to provide this space in my clients journey to heal.
One day at a time.
In gratitude,
Linda Zaffram, LCSW
Founder
