Today we’d like to introduce you to Haylie O’Hanlon.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I took a circuitous route to get to where I am professionally – I started off getting my undergraduate degree from CSUN in Music Therapy, and worked for many years as a hospice Music Therapist in California, Utah, and Massachusetts. By chance, I ended up taking a training in Music Therapy Assisted Childbirth, and fell in love with all things birth. I was struck by the mirror transformations that take place in the birthing and dying process, and knew I wanted to continue supporting people at these edges – I just didn’t know what role I wanted to take. I took a birth doula training in 2018 right before I started my graduate program for my Masters in Social Work from Walden University. Through my work as a Music Therapist, a Clinical Social Worker, and a birth doula I have supported people as they transitioned to end of life, and as they have labored life into the world. I have also walked alongside people as they grieved the loss of a life, and as they have adjusted to the presence of a new life. I have found so much meaning and purpose in my various roles, and I feel incredibly privileged to be a witness and guide for people in these times.
However, nothing has affirmed my decision to be a perinatal therapist as much as my own personal experience as a new mom. I became licensed as a social worker 2 weeks before I gave birth to my son in 2024. I experienced medical complications in my birth and immediate postpartum, and I struggled immensely with my matrescence – postpartum depression and anxiety greatly impacted my first 4 months with my son. I am so grateful to have had the knowledge and information that I learned in my trainings to be a perinatal therapist – because while it was painful and incredibly challenging, I was aware of what to look for when seeking support. Many of the providers I saw had limited knowledge or experience in supporting postpartum women, and I was able to seek better support elsewhere.
Both my clinical and personal experience have shaped my desire to be a support for parents as they navigate the decision to have children, the process of conceiving, the uncertainty of pregnancy and birth, and the intense shifts that happen in postpartum.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been a windy road with all the struggles one might expect with moving across country multiple times, supporting hospice patients in a global pandemic, navigating massive amounts of collective turmoil and uncertainty, and rushing to sit for my social work license exam 2 weeks before I gave birth.
My biggest challenge was my own personal experience in postpartum. My pregnancy was deeply wanted, but unplanned, and happened in the busiest year of my life, personally and professionally. I had a lot on my plate, and it was difficult for me to really wrap my head around the fact that I was going to be a mother. Then, at 36 weeks my blood pressure spiked and I was diagnosed with preeclampsia. I had to pivot from my plans of an unmedicated home birth, to a hospital induction a month before my due date, with a team I didn’t know. It was a hard, long labor, and a scary immediate postpartum experience. My birth leveled me, and it took me months and months of therapy and self-exploration to feel grounded again.
I knew that I didn’t have the capacity to return to my full-time job, so I decided to start my private practice as I came off maternity leave. It has been the most challenging, rewarding, terrifying, fulfilling, and transformative journey. It has allowed me to do work that is meaningful to me, spend more time with my son, and connected me to a community of therapists and moms who are creating beautiful change in the maternal mental health world. I am so grateful to be a part of it.
As you know, we’re big fans of Root and Bloom Therapy Services. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I am a psychotherapist who walks alongside people as they navigate life’s raw transitions – birth, death, grief, and postpartum. A lot of my clients struggle with anxiety, perfectionism, relationship struggles, and a need for control that can make these transitions feel incredibly overwhelming. They are so used to having it all together, and feel thrown for a loop when they find themselves unraveled by these intense life changes.
What sets me apart is my mix of lived and clinical experience. I have struggled with anxiety, perfectionism, and hyper-independence, and it completely unraveled me in my postpartum. I have benefited from the support of both individual and group therapy, and I am committed to continuing to learn about myself as I evolve. I also have had the privilege of learning from my work with clients over the past 10 years. My varied experience working in hospice, grief support, birth and postpartum, as well as community mental health has given me a well-rounded and nuanced perspective on mental health and the therapeutic process. Transformation is highly individual and treatment shouldn’t be standardized. I will meet you right where you are and we will figure it out together. I may have expertise in these areas, but you are the expert on you.
I am most proud of my unique approach to therapy. We are exploring LIFE, so we will use what makes life worth living. I incorporate a lot of music, art, literature, poetry, and somatic work in my process. By prioritizing the safety in our relationship, authentic connection – to yourself, others, and the world around you, the wisdom of the body, your history, and creative expression, we create a container where it feels safe to explore the depths of these transformations and gain valuable insight that you can carry with you. It is an honor to witness people at these intense, sacred moments and I am always grateful that they choose to show up, vulnerable and honest.
I offer traditional 50-minute individual therapy sessions, as well as longer intensives, up to 110 minutes. All session are virtual, so you can log in from the comfort of your own home. Potential clients can book a free 15-minute introductory call through my website to see if we are a good fit – the vibe has to be right for therapy to work! I want clients to know that they are not alone, and they are not broken. I aim to create a safe place for people to land, where we can sort through their emotions with compassion, humor, and tenderness.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rootandbloomtherapyservices.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/root.and.bloom.therapy/
Image Credits
Amy Perla
Amy O’Hanlon
