The Perinatal Mental Health Collective

KATE BORSATO + ASSOCIATE THERAPISTS

Welcome to our online therapy clinic. We’re so glad you landed here! If you’re a mom or parent or expecting a new baby, and you have a feeling you need some support, you’re in the right place. Society tells us that motherhood will come naturally; other moms’ highlight reels depict it as blissful, seamless, and totally enamoring. But in the spaces between the baby showers, birthdays, and adorable Instagrammable moments, reality hits. Motherhood can be turbulent and not anything like you expected. And we get it, we’ve been there too.

We’re an online mental health counselling organization for moms, pregnant people, and families across Canada.

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Our team is trained to help you manage the peaks and valleys of the entire journey of becoming a mom. From deciding to have children, to navigating your journey through fertility, pregnancy, birth, postpartum, relationship changes, parenting, career demands and beyond, parenthood can be rife with challenges. Our team is here to support you through it all.

We believe that you deserve to be supported by professionals who truly see and understand your unique situation. Our therapists are trained to identify and treat specific, motherhood-related challenges. The mission of this collective is to bring deep compassion, solid expertise, and lived experiences of motherhood to our counseling sessions so that you feel heard, understood, and truly supported.

Nice to meet you!

Our Team

We’re a group of therapists who are passionate about perinatal mental health. Because we value informed, evidence-based practice, we ensure that every therapist on our team has specific training and experience supporting moms with the challenges unique to this stage of life. We focused entirely on motherhood because we want you to rest assured knowing that we really truly get it and know how to help.

Message
from Kate >

Kate Borsato, RCC, Founder, Therapist

Brief Bio
Kate (she/her) is a mom of two, a Registered Clinical Counsellor, founder of The Perinatal Mental Health Collective, and multi-passionate entrepreneur. She’s based out of south Vancouver Island and is honoured to support other women as they balance all that motherhood brings. She’s big on self-compassion, making space for YOU, creative expression, and giving yourself permission to feel the way you do. When not working, she’s dreaming of her next chapter abroad, learning Spanish or painting with her kids.
Qualifications
  • Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with BCACC (British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors)
  • Master of Arts In Counselling Psychology (University of Victoria, Victoria, B.C.)
  • Maternal Mental Health Certificate (Postpartum Support International)
  • Online Counselling Certificate (Therapy Online + University of Toronto)
  • Mindful Self-Compassion Core Skills Training (Center for Mindful Self-Compassion)

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (Whitman College, Walla Walla Washington)

Kate is not accepting new clients. Please visit the associate therapist’s links below to find earlier availability.
JOIN KATE’S WAITLIST
Message
from Jana >

Jana Jesson, RCC, Therapist

Brief Bio
Jana (she/her) is a mama to three wonderful kids and is an RCC with the BCACC, with 10 years of experience as a therapist. She is based in BC and is passionate about providing support to mothers during all of the challenges and changes that motherhood brings.

When she isn’t working or taking care of her three young children, she loves doing anything outside, reading a good book, being creative and travelling.

Qualifications
  • Certificate in Maternal Mental Health Intensive Online: Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorders, Seleni Institute
  • Graduate Certificate in Complex Trauma and Child Sexual Abuse Prevention, Justice Institute of British Columbia 
  • Master of Counselling Psychology, City University of Seattle
  • Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, University of British Columbia
  • Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with the BCACC (British Columbia Association for Clinical Counsellors) #10143

 

Jana is available to see clients across Canada, excluding ON, QC, NB, NS.

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Message
from Gabriela >

Gabriela Gutierrez, RCC, Therapist

Brief Bio
Gabriela (she/her) is mama to a young daughter and is a Registered Clinical Counsellor with more than 10 years of experience supporting mothers, young families, caregivers, and children. Gabriela can help you bring balance, peace, knowledge, and fun to your life as a mother. When she’s not working, Gabriela enjoys walking her dog, eating good food, playing with her little girl, planning family outings, and getting creative with macramé and paint. Gabriela can see clients in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
Qualifications
  • Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with BCACC (British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors)
  • Master of Arts In Counselling Psychology (Adler University, Vancouver B.C.)
  • Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (Universidad Anáhuac Mayab, Mexico)
  • Diploma in Child Neuropsychology (Instituto de Neuropsicología e Intervención Psicológica del Sureste (INIPS), Mexico)
  • Certificate in Trauma Focused CBT (Medical University of South Carolina)
  • Certificate in Expressive Play Therapy (Justice Institute of British Columbia)
  • Certificate in EMDR (EMDR Consulting)

Certificate in Maternal Mental Health: Bringing Light to Motherhood (Maternal Mental Health Now)

Currently accepting new clients across Canada (excluding QC, ON, NS, NB)

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Message
from Melissa >

Melissa Medjuck, RSW, Therapist

Brief Bio
Melissa (she/her) is a mom to three-year-old twins, a registered social worker, and a therapist specializing in maternal mental health. Melissa is also a certified birth doula, postpartum doula, and a yoga teacher with more than 15 years of experience supporting diverse groups of women. When Melissa is not working, you can find her daydreaming about travel, planning her next meal with her partner, reading, enjoying deep-belly laughs with girlfriends, and trying to practice yoga with two monkeys—aka toddlers—climbing all over her.
Qualifications
  • Registered Social Worker (RSW) with British Columbia College of Social Workers (BCCSW)
  • Master of Social Work (University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC)
  • Maternal Mental Health Certificate (Postpartum Support International)
  • Labour and Birth Doula Training (DONA International), Certified Doula with DONA International (CD(DONA))
  • Postpartum Doula Training (DONA International)
  • Yoga Teacher Training, 200 hour (Lila School of Vinyasa Yoga)
  • Bachelor of Social Work (University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC)

Bachelor of Arts in Gender Studies and English Literature (University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC)

As a Registered Social Worker in British Columbia, Melissa offers counselling to clients in B.C. only.

**Melissa is currently full, but taking a waitlist. Please see other therapists availability or add your name to her waitlist. 

JOIN MELISSA's WAITLIST

Who We Support

You are in the right place

We offer individual video-based counseling sessions to clients across Canada (currently excluding Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia)

At least one in five moms experience postpartum depression or anxiety, and most moms have a harder time adjusting to motherhood than they expected. So let’s face it: becoming a mom can be incredibly challenging and create so many new layers of stress, anxiety, and interpersonal challenges that you never could have seen coming.

Moms and moms-to-be come to us for support as they adjust to this phase of life and the hurdles that come with it.

Common Challenges We Address In Our Sessions:

 

  • Postpartum and pregnancy anxiety, depression and mood challenges
  • Intrusive or scary thoughts
  • Relationship changes or difficulties
  • Rebuilding intimacy and sex
  • Identity transitions, or not feeling like yourself anymore
  • Birth trauma or disappointing birth experiences
  • Feeling blue, low, or uninspired
  • Fertility challenges
  • Pregnancy loss and stillbirth
  • Making decisions regarding family planning
  • Not feeling prepared for how your life would change
  • Managing life stress, changing roles, family dynamics
  • Returning to work
  • Grief and loss

Our Beliefs and Values

What we stand for

These statements define our values and work as mental health therapists:

  • A mother’s mental wellbeing has a direct impact on her family life, relationship, and child’s happiness.
  • You are worthy of your own love, compassion, self-care, and acceptance.
  • You have permission to write your own rulebook and define your values in motherhood.
  • You are more than “just a mom” and deserve to be fulfilled intellectually, socially, creatively, physically, and spiritually.
  • Your experience from your fertility journey to birth to the postpartum years has a huge impact on your mental health and identity.
  • There’s no wrong way to feel in motherhood and you have permission to feel the way you do without judgment from yourself or others. 
  • Postpartum depression and anxiety are some of the most prevalent mental health illnesses but yet they’re one of the most misunderstood and undertreated. One in five moms suffers. All of those moms are worthy of treatment and adequate support. 
  • Historical oppression, racism, and family trauma can contribute to mood disorders for moms. This includes moms who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour.
  • Moms from marginalized communities are at risk for childbirth trauma, postpartum depression and anxiety, and they’re more likely to have a harder time accessing mental health support. 
  • Not all clients identify as cisgender women. We work to be inclusive and accommodating for trans clients and all birthing people seeking support. 
  • Those who have a history with depression, anxiety or any other mental health illnesses are more likely to suffer in motherhood.
  • We consciously work towards inclusivity with language, graphics, examples in coursework, business partners, etc.
DB+
Frequently Asked Questions
HOW DOES ONLINE COUNSELING WORK?
Online counseling is the same as in-person counseling, except that we meet online. Just click the button below to book your first session. Once your account is set up, you can easily book your appointments and enter (and pay for) your video sessions.
You don’t need to download anything. All you need is an up-to-date browser (Chrome works well) and a good internet connection.
CAN I USE MY IPAD OR OTHER DEVICES?
Ideally, you would use a laptop or computer, with a screen that’s big enough to see your therapist. A smartphone or tablet will however work in a pinch. If you plan on using one of those devices, you’ll just need to download the Jane App from the app store.
HOW DOES BILLING, PAYMENT AND INSURANCE WORK?
We offer one-hour sessions for $135 (CAD) plus GST. Video sessions are similar to in-person sessions, where we meet for one hour, and we spend time outside of your session planning your treatment and keeping progress notes.

After each session, you’ll have a balance in your “billing area” in your client account. We ask that this is paid immediately. All payment information is kept for you in your online account (which you can access from my website). You can make payments with a credit card.
Many extended health benefit plans cover counseling from either Registered Counsellors and/or Registered Social Workers, however, this varies from province to province in Canada. Make sure you check with your provider directly and understand your coverage before booking. We do not offer direct billing.

WHAT PROVINCES YOU SEE IN CLIENTS?
We currently see clients in all provinces and territories across Canada except Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. We’ll soon be expanding across the rest of Canada as well. If you’re outside of these locations, visit Postpartum Support International for their directory of therapists who are trained in perinatal mental health.
WHERE IS YOUR OFFICE LOCATED?
We are a virtual therapy clinic! We have therapists who are located all over Canada, and we offer all services through video sessions.
HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO BE IN COUNSELING FOR?
This really depends on what challenges you’d like support with. Some clients will come for just a few sessions, whereas others are looking for longer support. Your counselor will discuss the timeline with you once you get started.
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Contact me for more Questions

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