Today we’d like to introduce you to Alyssa Berlin.
Hi Alyssa, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
It all began when I met my future husband. We had a vision and a dream to open a holistic wellness center together. Jokingly, we chose the name “A Shrink and a Quack” and we set out on our graduate school journey in Atlanta, GA to bring our idea to life. While my husband studied chiropractic and massage therapy, I pursued a degree in clinical psychology with a focus on women’s health.
After completing my internship in Lincoln, NE, we moved to Los Angeles for my postdoctoral training. About ten months later, we became parents for the first time and welcomed our first son Yosef to the family. Being relatively new transplants in LA, we did not have much support in the way of family or community. We personally had a need for help during the transition to parenthood and it opened my eyes. It highlighted that a birth and postpartum community is greatly needed for support during the postpartum period. We do a lot to prepare for birth and the gear we will need afterward, but there were few resources aimed towards the transition to parenthood. After all, the assumption was that there is no parenting manual – you just have to jump in and go with it. But that’s not true.
Shortly after my second child was born, I grabbed my birth doula and set out to explore any available resources on adjusting to the postpartum period – thereby changing my therapeutic focus from women’s health alone to also specifically focusing on supporting families through the perinatal period. Together, my husband and I started a wellness center focused on helping women and families throughout pregnancy and the postpartum journey. Berlin Wellness Group was born!
Over the past five years, I also pursued more specialized training in trauma work. I noticed that having a baby often shines a spotlight on prior struggles and/or traumatic experiences, bringing them to center stage. I continue to immerse myself in Somatic Experiencing and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) to better assist my clients.
My goal is to help birthing individuals and their family before, during, and after pregnancy. I often say an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. Through individual and couples counseling and my online workshop The AfterBirth Plan™, my passion is to help families create a blueprint to help them avoid the common pitfalls of the postpartum period. I want them to experience a smoother transition to parenthood and to treat trauma and Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMAD) that may present during this phase of life, which help families more fully enjoy their new addition.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The hardest part about our professional journey has been fighting against the fact that as a society, we don’t really support prevention in health and wellness. Treatment is often focused on curing symptoms after they occur and not preventing them from the outset. (Of course, not everything is preventable, but there’s a lot of work we can do to curb the struggles of the perinatal period.) I want people to know that yes, things may be difficult during the perinatal period but there are things we can do to ease the burden, soften the experience, and prepare before baby’s arrival, both physically and emotionally.
On a personal note, the balance between work and family is a lifelong journey shared by most of us. I, too have felt the pangs of being present at home for myself, husband and our four kids while attending to the needs of my clients and my “5th baby” – The AfterBirth Plan™ workshop.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Berlin Wellness Group?
Berlin Wellness Group was founded in order to naturally promote functional, comfortable, and healthy pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum experiences. Pregnancy and postpartum is our expertise. I am a clinical psychologist specializing in pregnancy, postpartum, and parenting. I offer private counseling for women individually and with their partners, with a focus on perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. We offer many services at our clinic including: chiropractic, acupuncture, massage, reflexology, individual and couples counseling, medical hypnotherapy, craniosacral therapy, nutritional counseling, yoga, and childbirth education and preparation workshops. Whether you are looking for pain relief, labor preparation, wellness care, doula support, or bodywork for labor, we’ve got you covered.
I created The AfterBirth Plan™, a program that prepares couples for what to expect and how to strengthen the evolving partner relationship after a baby is born. The workshop is available online and you can take the course at your own pace (from your couch which is a huge plus!)
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
I’ve learned that us humans are very adaptable. Covid taught us that we can adjust to anything. If someone would have asked you if you could have imagined sheltering in place and quarantining for an extended period of time, most of us would have likely said no way, yet here we are. We did it.
Anxiety would have us believe that because we have never been through a specific situation, we have no tools to bring to the table – i.e., we’ve never been through a pandemic so how can we possibly know how to cope? The reality is that all the tools that have worked for us in the past in a multitude of situations where we needed to adapt will work here too. The same is true with postpartum; you may never have had a baby before, but it doesn’t mean you don’t have any skills or tools to bring to the table. Because you do! My job is to remind you of the tools that you already possess while adding some new ones to the mix, thereby facilitating a smooth and happy adjustment to life with baby.
Contact Info:
- Website: doctorberlin.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/theafterbirthplan
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DoctorBerlin
Image Credits:
Cat Sackett for all solo shots
