Rediscover hope after losing your baby.

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Therapy

Specializing in supportive online therapy for grieving Catholic adults and couples throughout Ohio

Does life beyond your loss seem unimaginable?

Maybe you had a miscarriage at 10 weeks and are devastated, or perhaps you gave birth, but your precious baby died after fighting for life in the NICU and you feel lost in your grief and trauma.

You may be struggling to find joy in life again, or simply not getting out of bed at all.

Perhaps you’re feeling crushed by loneliness, sadness, anger, guilt, and difficult memories, and are afraid of the future.

Whatever it is that you’re experiencing, you’re beginning to notice the impact of this in every facet of your life:

  • Being reminded of your loss at gatherings and church, on social media, and everywhere you go

  • Feeling the mental toll of keeping up with work and personal responsibilities, let alone taking care of yourself

  • Experiencing distance from or conflict with your spouse, God, and loved ones who appear absent or dismissive

Pregnancy Loss & Infant Loss Therapy can help.

Edward Luersman infertility, pregnancy loss, and singles therapist in Ohio, sitting in office chair

It may feel impossible now, but you can experience relief and less loneliness in the midst of the loss of your baby.

You can learn how to better navigate your intense emotions and rediscover peace in your life. 

You can improve your relationship with your spouse, God, and yourself and re-engage in your present routine, work, and interests again. And we can help you get there.

What we’ll do together

Pregnancy Loss & Infant Loss Therapy helps you do 3 things:

Share

Experience a safe, compassionate place to explore and express your inner experience of your loss and be seen and understood.

Reflect

Receive specialized and customized support to discover fresh perspectives and learn helpful ways to cope, grieve, and honor your baby.

Cope

Discover how to reconnect with your spouse and other loved ones and restore hope and peace in your life.

We’ll help through this process, tailoring each step to your unique needs and circumstances in your individual or couples sessions.  Our approach to pregnancy loss and infant loss therapy comes from a place of hope: believing that you and your spouse can find peace and hope again in the darkness of losing a baby.

You don’t have to keep feeling overwhelmed and alone.

We can help you get there.

Common questions about Pregnancy Loss and Infant Loss Therapy

  • Therapy sessions with me are down to earth and conversational. No need for formality here- you can be yourself and I will be my authentic-therapist-self as we walk together through the ups and downs of your grief journey. Some sessions are heavy when you need a place to share the painful details and inner experience of your baby’s death; but they are also sometimes light-hearted when you need a break from the grief and joke that your dog is a drama queen but you still love her dearly, or we are celebrating the relief you feel. Therapy with me is collaborative and I welcome your feedback and questions. I show genuine care and respect for you in session to help you feel comfortable as we work together to achieve your goal of discovering relief and peace. 

    I like to start sessions with updates from you- How is your husband doing with his new job? How did you do at your niece’s baptism; was it an emotional experience for you? Then we spend much of session talking about what is on your mind: the details of your loss experience, your past or current inner experience of grief, struggles with your marriage, relationships, or faith, your concern about that insensitive aunt at the family reunion next week, other life updates, etc. We will spend much time in session giving you space to express and feel the emotions stemming from your loss experience. We also may learn more about living with grief and coping ideas, maybe even trying a coping exercise in session.  Finally, we will wrap up our conversation by confirming our next appointment and, if faith is important to you, closing with a personalized prayer offered by me just for you.

  • No matter whether you have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death, SIDS, or other forms of baby loss, pregnancy and infant loss therapy may be a good fit for you if you are ready to not suffer alone anymore and walk with a supportive, caring professional on your pregnancy or infant loss journey.  You may be afraid of the future and uncomfortable with your feelings, but you’re ready to face the discomfort of talking about them in order to get the help and relief you deserve. You are willing to self-reflect and have an open mind to what you may learn in session about yourself, your experience, and coping with pregnancy loss or infant loss.  And you’re ready to do what it takes in session and outside session in your daily life to restore peace and fulfillment in your life. Therapy is a big investment of time, money, and energy, but you are ready to commit to the process. 

    Although we specialize in supporting Catholics with pregnancy loss or infant loss, you do not need to be Catholic in order to work with us if we and you believe we are a good fit for your needs.

  • How long you need to be in Pregnancy Loss and Infant Loss Therapy depends on your particular grief and fertility journey and individual needs. Each situation is unique- for example, you may have lost your third child after two successful births; or you may have experienced one or multiple pregnancy or infant losses after getting married.  Additionally, every person responds to loss differently and you may need more or less time to find peace again. Some clients find it helpful to meet every 1-2 weeks for several months to a year or more; however, I do not want to be attached to a specific timeline.  You will know when to decrease or discontinue sessions when you feel sufficient relief and are ready to face future challenges with less support from us. 

    Grief is naturally fluid and unpredictable. Over time, we will get a sense of how long you need our support and we will tailor the counseling process to meet your unique needs.  Ultimately, we want a timeline that works best for you; there is no “right” answer for everyone on this, but there is a good answer for you and we’ll help you find it.

  • We are happy to offer the convenience and flexibility of online therapy, allowing you to join us from wherever you are in the state of Ohio! Join us from home, schedule appointments during your work day, or whatever is convenient for you! For your online video sessions, you will need to be in a private and quiet space with a good internet connection and if in your car, parked in a stationary location. In order to do online sessions, you will need to complete a telehealth consent form in advance.

  • Contact us to schedule a free consultation and we will reply to make it happen! During that 30-minute phone conversation, we will ask you to briefly describe your pregnancy or infant loss experience that brings you to counseling and your goals for our work together. We will answer any questions or concerns that you may have about starting therapy, to make sure you are confident we are a good fit for you!  If we both agree we are a good fit for your needs, we will then ask for some additional basic information about you, confirm some logistical details, and confirm our current availability for scheduling.  Finally, if ready, we will schedule your first appointment, and we will send you some instructions and the needed paperwork to complete before that appointment. Off we go!