People ask me all the time how I combine my therapy work and birth doula practice at Bloom True Wellness. Technically, I’m not ethically able to be in dual relationships with my clients. Conceptually, the two roles are not so different from one another.

As a therapist and a birth doula, I validate, collaborate with, and educate my clients in hopes of empowering them in their decision making. We process through fears and past trauma, all whilst working towards healing and freedom. We discuss coping skills, communication patterns, and ways to increase relational safety in order for all clients to feel seen and heard. I advocate for my clients and connect them to resources so that they can be more informed and provided with the wrap-around, holistic care they need. I highlight the importance of the mind-body connection, and assist clients in utilizing mindfulness and meditation to ground themselves and trust their process. Being able sit with people in their physical pain prepares me to hold them in their emotional pain.

At the end of the day, my goal is to create a safe space to provide practical and emotional support. I firmly believe people have the resiliency and resources they need already within themselves, and that in both roles it is my job to help them uncover them. My hope is that people would leave my services feeling more secure in their identity, connected to their bodies, and empowered in their decisions. You can call me a life doula, or a birth therapist- to me they are one in the same.

By: Heidi Swartzmiller
LMFT Registered Intern, Birth Doula
Bloom True Wellness, LLC.

www.BloomTrueWellness.com
Heidi@bloomtruewellness.com
Ph: 971.337.0389

Do you live in Oregon or Washington and serve babies and families?
Meg Ross Photography, a Portland Birth Worker Photographer, wants to capture you doing what you do best!
REACH OUT TODAY and invest in your business brand.

Want to see images of birth workers “in the wild”? Follow me this way…
…and then feel free to stalk Meg Ross Photography on Instagram.