Pregnancy & Postpartum Therapy

What people actually come in with

Almost nobody arrives saying "I have a perinatal mood disorder." People arrive saying they cry at things that should not make them cry, that they cannot switch their brain off at 3am, that they do not feel the way they expected to feel, or that they feel fine and that itself feels wrong. Sometimes they arrive because a partner or a parent nudged them.

Common threads in this work:

• Anxiety in pregnancy, including fear about labour, about something going wrong, or about the kind of parent you will be
• The identity shift: who you were before, who you are now, and the grief that can sit alongside real joy
• Low mood, flatness, or a sense of going through the motions after birth
• Intrusive thoughts and checking behaviours that frighten you
• Rage and irritability, which surprise people more than sadness does
• Strain on your relationship, on your friendships, and on the way you relate to your own mother
• Pregnancy loss, difficult births, and births that did not go the way you planned
• Returning to work, or deciding not to

Where the line sits between hard and clinical

This distinction gets muddled constantly, so here is how Ontario's own perinatal mental health guidance draws it.

You are not an outlier

Statistics Canada surveyed people who had recently given birth and found that 23 per cent reported feelings consistent with either postpartum depression or an anxiety disorder. Broken down, 17.9 per cent had symptoms consistent with postpartum depression and 13.8 per cent with postpartum anxiety.^{1 2}

Those are screening results rather than clinical diagnoses, which matters and is worth saying out loud. But they line up with what Ontario's perinatal guidance estimates: up to 20 per cent of pregnant and postpartum people struggle with their mental health.³ Ontario's own birth records tell a similar story. Of the 139,488 people who were pregnant and resident in Ontario in 2019/2020, about 20 per cent had a mental health concern recorded, most commonly anxiety at 15.1 per cent and depression at 9.8 per cent.³

Ontario recorded 143,687 live births in 2024.⁴ Locally, about 4,650 babies are born each year at the Waterloo Regional Health Network, which runs the region's hospital childbirth program at its Midtown site in Kitchener.⁵

Two findings from the research that patients tell us are a relief to hear. A previous history of depression makes postpartum depression symptoms 2.6 times more likely and postpartum anxiety symptoms 3.4 times more likely, so if this has happened to you before, you were not being paranoid to watch for it. And support matters measurably: maternal support and a sense of community belonging were both associated with lower odds of each.⁶

Partners are not exempt. A meta-analysis of paternal depression around the perinatal period found a pooled prevalence of 8.4 per cent.⁷

Why this is harder to get help for than it should be

We would rather tell you this than have you conclude the problem is you.

Ontario does not screen everyone. There is no mandated universal perinatal mental health screening in this province. Validated tools including the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale were added to the Ontario Perinatal Record in 2017 so that providers have them to hand at each visit, but using them is not compulsory.³ In a national survey of 435 perinatal health care practitioners, only 12.9 per cent reported workplace-mandated screening, and only 42.7 per cent had any perinatal-mental-health-specific training.⁸

Practitioners themselves say the services are not there. In the same body of work, 95.8 per cent of health care practitioners surveyed said perinatal mental health services are insufficient in Canada, and the estimate given is that only about one in five women with perinatal mental health issues are currently accessing treatment.⁹ Of the Canadians who reported postpartum depression or anxiety feelings in the Statistics Canada survey, 32 per cent said they received help.¹

There is no local perinatal clinic. As of July 2026, the Waterloo Regional Health Network lists roughly 25 mental health and addictions programs, including adult outpatient care, rapid response and short-term psychiatry. None of them is a perinatal or postpartum program.¹⁰ The province's free therapy program, Ontario Structured Psychotherapy, has no perinatal-specific stream.¹¹

So the honest summary is: this is common, it is under-screened, and locally there is no dedicated public service for it. That is the gap private practice sits in, and it is also why the free and low-cost options below are worth knowing about even if you never book with us.

What a session actually involves

The first session is mostly you talking and Leanne listening and asking questions. You will not be handed a worksheet in the first ten minutes. Together you work out what is actually going on, what you want to be different, and what a realistic plan looks like.

Leanne's approach is collaborative and strength-based, drawing on cognitive behavioural therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, solution-focused therapy, mindfulness-based approaches, motivational interviewing and narrative therapy. Which of those show up depends on what you bring, not on a fixed protocol.

• Babies are welcome in the room. The months when childcare is hardest to arrange are the months you may most need the hour.
• Online sessions run most weekdays, daytime and some evenings, if leaving the house is the barrier.
• In-person sessions are at Suite 304, 678 Belmont Avenue West in Kitchener. Note the office is on the second floor and stairs are required, which is worth knowing if you are late in pregnancy, recovering from a caesarean, or arriving with a stroller. Online is a straightforward alternative.
• A free 15-minute consultation exists so you can work out whether it is a fit before paying for anything.

What it costs, and what is covered

Session	50 minutes	80 minutes
Individual	$150	$225
Student	$130	$200
Couple	$170	$250

OHIP does not cover this. Psychotherapy from a Registered Psychotherapist in private practice is not an OHIP-covered service. What OHIP does cover is mental health care delivered by physicians, meaning your family doctor and psychiatrists, plus care inside hospital programs.¹⁵ That is a real distinction and it is worth using: a referral from your family doctor to a psychiatrist costs you nothing.

Extended health insurance usually does. Most extended health plans that include Registered Psychotherapist benefits will reimburse these sessions, though coverage depends entirely on your specific plan. Check your plan for the words "Registered Psychotherapist" and for your annual maximum. We offer direct billing to most major providers, so where it applies you are not paying up front and waiting for reimbursement.

There is no HST on these sessions. Psychotherapy and counselling therapy services became exempt from GST/HST across Canada on 20 June 2024, when Bill C-59 received Royal Assent. In Ontario the exemption applies where the practitioner is a Registered Psychotherapist in good standing with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario.¹⁶

If you are a victim of violent crime, KW Therapy is a registered provider with Victim Services of Waterloo Region through the Victim Quick Response Program+, which funds short-term counselling. Eligibility and limits are set by the program, so contact Victim Services of Waterloo Region directly.

How to start

1. Book a free 15-minute consultation online, or email leanne@kwtherapy.ca. Appointment times are Wednesdays and Fridays, 11am to 2pm.
2. The consultation is a conversation, not an assessment. There is no commitment and no obligation to book a session afterwards.
3. If those times do not work or you need support sooner, the free and lower-cost options above are worth using. Using them does not stop you booking with us later.

Common questions

Where these numbers come from

We would rather you could check us. Every figure on this page is linked to its source below, with the period it refers to. Where a number is a screening result rather than a clinical diagnosis, we have said so on the page. If you find something here that is out of date or wrong, please email leanne@kwtherapy.ca and we will correct it.

This page describes psychotherapy services offered by KW Therapy in Kitchener, Ontario. It is general information, not clinical advice, and reading it is not a substitute for an assessment by a regulated health professional. Leanne Wiese is a Registered Psychotherapist with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario, registration #15522, which you can confirm on the CRPO public register. Page last reviewed 19 July 2026.

Related: The Woman You Were, The Mother You're Becoming, an essay by Leanne on the identity shift of first-time motherhood · About Leanne · All services and fees · Frequently asked questions