Held perinatal
For the emotional transition to parenthood.
You hold so much.
You deserve to feel held, too.
Specialist therapy through pregnancy, birth and early parenthood.
Whatever has brought you here, you don't have to have the words for it yet. HELD is a place where we can begin.
Free 15-minute consultation to see if we’re a good fit · see fees & rebates
Welcome to HELD. I'm Lyndall.
I created HELD because becoming a parent can ask an extraordinary amount of us. Sometimes, we need somewhere to put it all down.
HELD is a specialist perinatal therapy practice offering thoughtful, compassionate support through pregnancy, birth and early parenthood.
Does this sound like me?
Maybe this isn't how you thought it would feel.
Maybe your mind never seems to switch off. You're constantly worrying, checking, anticipating what could go wrong.
Maybe the birth keeps replaying in your head — and everyone else seems to have moved on.
Or perhaps motherhood has changed you in ways you weren't prepared for, and you're wondering where the person you used to be has gone.
Whatever brought you here, it matters.
What HELD means
There is room for all of it here.
- The love and the resentment.
- The gratitude and the grief.
- The fierce protectiveness and the desperate need for space.
- The confidence and the doubt.
- The mother you're becoming and the person you still are.
- The things you think you're supposed to feel — and the things you actually do.
That's what HELD means.
How I can help
A soft place to land — and a steady hand for the path ahead
I work with women and families across the perinatal period — from fertility and pregnancy through birth, early parenthood and the years that follow.
- Pregnancy anxiety & emotional wellbeing
- Perinatal anxiety & depression
- Bonding & connection with your baby
- Intrusive thoughts & overwhelming worry
- Matrescence, identity & motherhood
- Motherhood burnout, perfectionism & guilt
- Relationships after baby
- Fertility & IVF
- Support for fathers & partners
- After postpartum psychosis
You and your baby
Sometimes therapy includes your baby, too.
When becoming a parent feels difficult, it can affect not only how you feel, but how you experience your relationship with your baby.
This doesn't mean you've failed your baby. Connection is something that can grow — and when it's helpful, I work with you and your baby together.
However suits you
Choose your support
Support should meet you where you are, not the other way around.
In the therapy room
A calm, private space in Bundall to slow down, talk and make sense of what's happening.
Telehealth
Specialist support from home, anywhere in Australia — particularly helpful during pregnancy, with a new baby, or when simply getting out the door feels like too much.
Home visits
For times when coming to therapy isn't practical, I can bring the support to you. (Limited availability.)
Walk & Talk
For some people, talking feels easier side by side. Walk & Talk sessions outdoors in Bundall — space to move, breathe and think. Same fee as in the room; babies in prams welcome.
A little about me
A therapist, a mother, and someone in your corner.
I'm Lyndall Healey, a social worker and specialist perinatal and infant mental health therapist with more than 35 years' experience supporting people through some of life's most vulnerable and complex moments.
The mothers who sit with me don't need to perform motherhood here. They get to simply be human.
Matrescence
Motherhood changes more than your life. It can change who you are.
There is a word for this transformation: matrescence. Just as adolescence describes the transition into adulthood, matrescence describes the transition into motherhood.
It can be joyful and deeply meaningful. It can also be disorienting.
Resources
Words for the hard days.
Sometimes you aren't ready for therapy. Sometimes you just need to understand what is happening.
What actually happens in a first session
If the idea of a first appointment makes you nervous, here's exactly what to expect — so there are no surprises.
30 April 2026
What if you don't feel it straight away?
Nobody tells you this part: that love for your baby is allowed to arrive slowly. Mothering is a relationship, not a role — and relationships take time.
12 June 2026
Matrescence: the word nobody told you about
Becoming a mother is a transition as big as adolescence — and grieving your old life doesn't make you ungrateful.
12 May 2026We can start with where you are.
You don't need to know exactly what's wrong. And you don't need to find the perfect words before you reach out.
HELD
Perinatal & Infant Mental Health Therapy