I’m Johanna Lee, a therapist specializing in postpartum and motherhood mental health. I support mamas navigating anxiety, overwhelm, intrusive thoughts, identity shifts, and the emotional load that often goes unseen in early motherhood. As a culturally affirming and trauma-informed therapist, I honor how your upbringing, cultura, family expectations, faith, and lived experiences shape the way you move through this season. You deserve support that understands the layers you’re carrying- and you don’t have to hold or unpack any of it alone. My approach is gentle, compassionate, and grounding. Together, we’ll slow down, make sense of what you’re carrying, and help you reconnect with yourself- your needs, values, power and hope. My goal is to offer a space where you feel safe, supported, and truly seen in this tender, challenging, and transformative chapter of motherhood. (Learn more: https://www.millennialtheramom.com/)
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
Our first session is a soft landing. We’ll talk about what brought you here, the challenges you’re facing, and the ways your body, mind, and heart have been holding this season. I’ll help you name what feels heavy, identify immediate needs, and explore what healing looks like for you. Together, we’ll build a supportive plan that centers compassion, cultural awareness, and hope.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
Sensitivity is my superpower. I didn’t always see it that way- I was the kid who felt everything deeply and thought it was a flaw. Now I recognize it as the gift that allows me to sit with mamas in their most tender, overwhelming, and vulnerable moments. As a Mexican-American, first-generation daughter, and new mamá myself, I bring lived experience, cultural awareness, and compassion into every session. I understand what it means to carry family expectations, navigate identity shifts, and try to break cycles while raising a little one. My greatest strengths are my ability to truly listen, hold space without judgment, and help you gently untangle the emotional, cultural, and hormonal layers of postpartum. I can empathize with a wide range of struggles- from intrusive thoughts to burnout to feeling “not like myself”- and I’m committed to helping women become the healthiest, most grounded versions of themselves, for their own well-being and for the generations they’re nurturing.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
My ideal clients are mamas in the postpartum or early motherhood season who feel overwhelmed, anxious, exhausted, or unlike themselves. I work best with women navigating identity shifts, cultural and family pressures, or the emotional load of caring for a baby/toddler. My clients are seeking a gentle, compassionate space to slow down, heal, and reconnect with who they are in this new chapter.
Mind-body approach
Cycles of anxiety, trauma and burnout all have ways of impacting your mindset, beliefs and nervous system. The mind-body connection is essential to help heal from the impacts in long-lasting and sustainable ways. During our work, I can help you identify the physical symptoms you feel when you are experiencing different emotions and help you discover effective coping techniques to manage your stress responses when they activate. Some techniques & tools we will explore include: polyvagal therapy, deep breathing, movement, mindfulness, meditation, music, art, grounding & other nervous system regulation skills.
Attachment-based
Our early attachments to our parents have a huge impact on how we relate to others later in life, engage in relationships, parent our own children and more. In therapy, I can help you build insight onto your attachment style and how it is manifesting today. Together we can identify ways to build your secure & safe attachments, including setting healthy boundaries, expressing your emotions in healthy ways, and processing past relational trauma. Even if you weren't raised with healthy attachments, you can build secure & safe relationships now.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
As a parent and/or young adult, you probably have a million things running through your mind. What if I told you that some of those things are making you feel worse? It's true! The thoughts that run through our mind are often unconscious and when left unchecked, can cause us to feel a wide range of emotions & act in certain ways without us even knowing why. Through the use of cognitive therapy tools including trauma-focused CBT, mindfulness based cognitive therapy & self-talk exploration, I can help you identify thought patterns and beliefs that are contributing to your anxiety, burnout or other overwhelming emotions. When you become more mindful of the thoughts swirling around, then you can better identify them and stop them before they continue to spiral.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Many of us have experiences from our childhood that have left us feeling hurt and wounded. When you become a parent, those memories and experiences can resurface and leave you feeling upset, sad or resentful. IFS tools can help you identify what "parts" of us are still hurting, how it is manifesting today, and ways to heal so that you are living from your authentic "self" and not just these hurt parts. I can help you identify areas that you may need to "reparent" yourself and guide you as you heal from the past so that you can become the adult and parent you desire.
Faith based therapy
Your beliefs and faith can be sources of strength, resilience and grounded-ness. Together we can explore what your faith and spiritual practices look like and what would be helpful to incorporate in order to live rooted in your values and priorities. If you have harmful faith-based experiences from the past (e.g. church trauma), I can be a safe space to process this with you as well.