When a baby is born, so is a mother. Motherhood is one of life’s greatest transitions. It can bring love, joy and purpose, but it can also leave you carrying the invisible mental load, questioning your identity, navigating anxiety, or wondering why this season feels harder than you expected. You don’t have to navigate it alone. Together, we’ll create a space where you can feel understood, build confidence, and continue growing into the mother you want to be.
Every mother’s journey is different. Whether you’re navigating conception/pregnancy, the transition into motherhood, facing a specific challenge, or simply feeling that something isn’t quite right, counselling offers a space to pause, be heard, and find a way forward. I provide support across many seasons of motherhood, including:
Trying to conceive
IVF
Pregnancy loss
Pregnancy after loss
Abortion
Birth debriefing
Postpartum adjustment
Anxiety and overwhelm
Identity changes
Parenting challenges
Neurodivergent parenting
Relationships/Separation/solo parenting
Mental load
Burnout
We ALL benefit with having someone who we can be real with.
Someone who will listen to us without passing judgement.
Someone who not only listens but provides you with practical tools to create change.
Someone who we don’t have to reciprocate holding that emotional space for as well.
This is where as your counsellor I step in!
Whether you’re trying to conceive, pregnant, navigating postpartum, raising young children or supporting teenagers, every season of motherhood brings new challenges and opportunities for growth.
My role isn’t to tell you what to do. It’s to provide a safe, compassionate space where you can make sense of your experiences, reconnect with your values, and move towards the kind of mother you want to be.
I’m an Accredited Social Worker with almost 20 years’ experience, and the founder of A Mama is Born. I believe motherhood is one of life’s biggest transitions, and every mother deserves a space where she feels seen, supported and understood.
Alongside my professional experience, my own journey through infertility, IVF, pregnancy loss, neurodivergent parenting and single motherhood has given me a deep appreciation for the many different paths into and through motherhood. These experiences have shaped, but do not define, the way I work. They allow me to bring both professional expertise and genuine understanding to the women I support.
I combine evidence-based counselling with a compassionate, matrescence-informed approach, helping women navigate the emotional, mental and identity changes that can come with every season of motherhood. My goal is to help you feel heard, build confidence and move towards the mother you want to be.
Alongside my lived experience, I have undertaken extensive professional training in perinatal and infant mental health, Internal Family Systems (IFS), neurodiversity, and pregnancy support. I continue to deepen my knowledge so I can provide evidence-based, compassionate care that meets you wherever you are in your motherhood journey.
If you’d like to learn more about my background, qualifications and approach, you can read more on my About page.
Receiving counselling can be hard to prioritise. It may also for you come with some stigma or beliefs about how effective or helpful it can be.
But continuing to live every day not managing difficult thoughts and feelings and not living to your values, leads to ongoing health issues, relationship stress, confusion about who you are and what you want, and being a back seat passenger in your own life.
I’m here to answer any questions you may have about my counselling and mentoring services. If you can’t see an answer to your question here, please contact me.
Non-directive pregnancy support counselling is a form of counselling based on the understanding that, in many situations, people can resolve their own problems without being provided with a solution by the counsellor.
The service involves the counsellor undertaking a safe, confidential process that helps the client explore concerns they have about a pregnancy or postnatal issue. This includes providing unbiased, evidence-based information about all options and services available to the client, where requested.
The terms are interchangeable, however ‘non-directive pregnancy support counselling’ is the official name of the service you can claim a Medicare rebate for.
Counselling services are available to anyone, however a GP referral is required if you wish to claim a rebate from Medicare (if you are eligible).
The GP referral must contain the following information:
There is specific criteria that needs to be met in order to claim a Medicare rebate for non-directive counselling:
The client needs to either be pregnant or have been pregnant in the preceding 12 months. This includes women who have experienced pregnancy/infant loss.
A GP referral is required; this referral will enable you to claim a Medicare rebate for up to three sessions per pregnancy (a gap fee will apply).
The MBS item number is 81005 (services provided by an Accredited Social Worker).
Counselling sessions are available from the Liefde Wellness Centre in Seaford or Create to Connect on Frankston on thursdays, or via Telehealth.
To make it easy to discuss the requirements of a referral from your GP, I have put together a handy downloadable document.
Unpacking our birthing experiences takes time & sharing your full experience if you choose too. It also can lead to things surfacing that are really unexpected. I find my usual 50 minute sessions are not enough time for a birth debrief, especially if only doing a once off session. You can still claim a Medicare rebate if you have a referral and you birthed less than 12 months ago.
Counselling sessions can be booked online with my online booking system. If you need support to book, are a new client, want to book a 3 or 5 session package or to discuss other times please email me on: rachael@amamaisborn.com.au
