As a Minnesota family and newborn photographer, I spend a lot of time with moms in some of the biggest, messiest, most beautiful seasons of their lives. And the more conversations I have, the more I realize how much of motherhood happens quietly. The 2 a.m. Google spirals. The moments you feel like you lost yourself somewhere between diaper changes. The worries you don’t say out loud because you’re not sure anyone else feels them too.
That’s exactly why I started my Made for Minnesota Moms series. Real conversations with Minnesota women who support pregnancy, birth, and motherhood, with resources you can actually use.
Today’s guest is someone whose work I think every mom needs to know about. Kendra Olson, MSW, LICSW, PMH-C, is a mental health therapist who specializes in perinatal and maternal mental health. She’s the founder of Psychotherapy for Maternal Well-Being, offering therapy for women through pregnancy, postpartum, and everything that comes after
We talked about matrescence, how to tell the difference between baby blues and something that needs more support, the emotional weight of infertility and pregnancy loss, mom culture, and what it actually looks like to rediscover who you are outside of motherhood. This conversation is one I think about a lot.
Meet Kendra Olson, MSW, LICSW, PMH-C
Kendra Olson is a therapist with credentials in maternal mental health and she runs her own practice, Psychotherapy for Maternal Well-Being, based in Minnesota.
She primarily supports women and mothers who are in the family building years of life. This is exactly the kind of therapy for women that doesn’t get talked about enough. That includes women trying to conceive, women navigating infertility struggles, pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond. And beyond really is the key phrase here, because as you’ll see below, her work doesn’t stop at six weeks postpartum.
Her whole approach is built around one idea. Motherhood doesn’t have to look like what everyone else says it should. Her goal is helping moms see that they’re doing better than they think, and that they can handle the wild ride that comes with raising a family.
What Is Matrescence, and Why Does It Matter So Much for Therapy for Women
Before we get into the Q&A, I want to talk about a word that came up early in our conversation, because it changed how I think about motherhood entirely. The word is matrescence.
Kendra explained that matrescence is the term for the total transformation a woman goes through when she becomes a mother. Physical, social, emotional, and mental change, all at once. She compared it directly to adolescence. We readily accept that becoming a teenager is a huge shift in identity. Matrescence is that same kind of shift, just later in life and talked about far less. The word has been around since the 1970s, but it’s only gained real traction in the last few years.
If you’ve ever felt like you lost your old self somewhere in the process of becoming a mom, that’s matrescence. You’re not gone. You’re becoming someone new, and that takes real support.
This is a big reason why therapy for women during pregnancy and postpartum matters so much. You’re not just adjusting to a new schedule. You’re going through one of the most significant identity shifts a person can experience.
Watch the Full Interview
Before I get into the highlights, I want you to hear this one directly from Kendra. Her warmth and the way she explains things is honestly hard to fully capture in writing.
Watch the full episode below.
If you’d rather read the highlights first, keep scrolling. I pulled together the questions and moments that stuck with me the most.
Q&A with Kendra Olson, MSW, LICSW, PMH-C
1. How did you become specialized in perinatal and maternal mental health?
Kendra had already been a therapist for a couple of decades before she specialized. The shift happened after she had her first daughter. About six months postpartum, her boss at the time asked if she wanted to join their reproductive mental health team, a group of therapists whose caseload was women and moms.
At first, Kendra said the timing wasn’t right. She was still finding her footing as a new mom herself. But about eight years ago, she made the move. Then, roughly three years ago, she launched her own practice and made a decision. This was going to be the only population she worked with. No more general caseload. Just women in the family building years of life.
2. How can moms tell the difference between normal baby blues and something that needs more support, like postpartum depression or anxiety?
Kendra explained that the first two weeks postpartum are generally considered the baby blues window. Big highs and lows are normal here, from joyful moments to tears to feeling overwhelmed, largely thanks to the dramatic hormonal shift that happens when the placenta leaves your body.
What she watches for is whether things stabilize after those two weeks. If mood swings continue, if worries and anxieties keep building, if your usual coping strategies stop working, or if a partner notices ongoing changes in sleep or eating, those are worth a closer look. These can be signs of a postpartum mood or anxiety disorder, and Kendra pointed out that the standard six week postpartum checkup often doesn’t leave much room to talk about any of this. It’s part of why therapy for women matters so much in that postpartum window specifically, when the six week checkup isn’t built to catch it.
3. How do you support women through infertility, pregnancy loss, and early pregnancy anxiety?
Kendra said she often meets clients at the very start of the family building process, whether that’s trying to conceive, working through infertility treatment, or experiencing pregnancy loss. She also works with women mid pregnancy who are doing okay right now but want support before postpartum arrives, which she said she loves seeing more of. You don’t have to wait until things feel hard to reach out.
4. What do you wish more people understood about the emotional toll of miscarriage, failed IVF, and fertility treatment?
This is where therapy for women navigating infertility looks different from general talk therapy, and this question clearly mattered to Kendra. She talked about how grueling the process is, physically and emotionally, and how much waiting and uncertainty women sit with along the way. A lot of her work is helping clients trust their own feelings instead of dismissing them as “just hormones.”
She also used the phrase ambiguous grief to describe pregnancy loss and infertility. It’s a type of loss that’s harder for people, including the person experiencing it, to fully validate or find closure around. She added that shame plays a role too, since so many women feel like an inability to conceive easily is a personal failing, when it isn’t. And she pointed out something worth remembering: if a woman does conceive after infertility, that experience often shapes how she adjusts to motherhood afterward.
5. How do you help moms navigate social media and mom culture pressure?
Kendra brought up how much of a role social media plays for new moms, for better and worse. The issue isn’t social media itself. It’s that you’re often seeing someone’s highlight reel, or a confident opinion from someone with no real credentials, while you’re feeling scared or unsure. That combination can spiral fast, and she’s seen clients spend half an hour convinced their child has a certain diagnosis just from what they scrolled past.
Her approach isn’t about cutting social media out completely. It’s about being honest about how it’s affecting your mental health and finding ways to limit that impact when needed.
6. What does the process of rediscovering your identity outside of motherhood actually look like in therapy?
Kendra described this as different for every client, but it often starts with something like a needs assessment. Do you have any time to yourself? Are there hobbies you still make room for? From there, she looks at whether basic needs are being met, including time where the demands of other people are temporarily paused.
A big piece of her work is helping women look at whether the balance in their household actually reflects what they need, instead of automatically defaulting to putting themselves last. She was honest that this is something she has to actively practice in her own life too, not just something she teaches.
7. What’s a common myth about therapy for women that you wish more moms knew?
Kendra said the biggest one is thinking you have to be in crisis to justify seeing a therapist. You don’t have to be unable to function or unable to get out of bed. If something is weighing on you, or you’re thinking ahead to a vulnerable time like postpartum, that’s reason enough to reach out. She also pointed out how much of this mindset gets shaped by cost and insurance access, which is a real barrier for a lot of people. But she compared it to physical health. We don’t wait for a crisis to go to a yearly physical.
The Real Life Rescue Kit
At the end of every episode, I ask my guest for three Minnesota specific recommendations that help moms in real life. Here’s what Kendra shared.
Takeout rescue: Not technically takeout, but if you have a Costco membership, grab their ready to heat pulled pork, buns, barbecue sauce, a bag of veggies from the veggie tray, and a big tub of dip. Kendra said it took her ten minutes to put together one night when she was solo parenting, and it covered the whole meal.
Worth the effort kid friendly outing: Luce Line Brewing. Kendra said it’s easy, has a food truck, pinball machines, and plenty of outdoor seating. There are options for adults who drink and those who don’t, and she said her girls (ages six and eight) genuinely like going. It’s the kind of place where nobody has to worry about a kid meltdown next to a server and a table of strangers.
Local mom resource: How2Mom, run by Nikki and Stephanie, who offer birth and postpartum doula support along with birth education and placenta encapsulation in the Twin Cities. Kendra refers clients their way regularly, and they refer clients back to her.
Where to Find Kendra
If you’re looking for therapy for women in Minnesota who understands this specific season of life, here’s how to connect with Kendra.
- Visit her website for more on the services she offers, including infertility, pregnancy, and postpartum care
- Schedule a free phone consultation directly through her booking link
- Follow her on Instagram for more of her personality and some free, professionally backed guidance on perinatal and maternal mental health
A Personal Note from Me
So much of what moms carry gets normalized. We assume the anxiety, the exhaustion, and the identity shift are just part of the deal, and we don’t always know who to talk to about any of it.
Conversations like this one with Kendra matter because therapy for women isn’t just for a crisis. Whether you’re navigating infertility, pregnancy anxiety, postpartum adjustment, or you’re a few years in trying to figure out who you are outside of being someone’s mom, there are people in Minnesota who specialize in exactly this. You don’t have to figure it out alone.
If you want more conversations like this one, join my newsletter so you don’t miss the next episode. And if you’re ever ready to document this season of your family’s story, I’d love to connect with you.
Disclaimer: This blog post is for educational and informational purposes only and does not provide medical advice. It is not a substitute for professional medical care, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek advice from your physician, midwife, or other qualified healthcare provider with questions about pregnancy, labor, postpartum, or your health.
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