Dr Chloe Hughes

Experience in perinatal MH

I currently work within an NHS Perinatal Mental Health Service, supporting women and birthing people experiencing moderate to severe mental health difficulties during pregnancy and throughout their baby’s infancy.

I work with parents experiencing a range of difficulties during pregnancy, including worries about pregnancy and the safety of their baby, fears or anxiety surrounding childbirth, and OCD symptoms such as intrusive or unwanted thoughts. I also support parents as they navigate the transition into parenthood and begin to develop their relationship with their baby. My experience also includes supporting parents who have experienced trauma in their own childhood.

For some parents, the journey to pregnancy may have involved previous losses, fertility difficulties, or other experiences that can understandably shape how a current pregnancy feels. Where this is relevant, I can support you to explore how these experiences may be influencing your thoughts, feelings and experience of pregnancy/parenthood. My work is not focused on bereavement or grief therapy, but rather on understanding how previous experiences can be carried forward and how these experiences can be held with greater compassion.

I am open to referrals for mothers and birthing people during pregnancy and after birth.

What drew you to the work

My interest in perinatal mental health comes from a deep appreciation of what a vulnerable, challenging and transformative time this can be. Pregnancy and becoming a parent involve enormous biological, hormonal and neurobiological changes, alongside significant changes to identity, relationships and sense of self. I want to provide a space for women/birthing people to get support without judgement or shame, for themselves and also for their babies.

Becoming a parent can also bring our own experiences of being parented to the forefront in unexpected ways. We may find ourselves thinking about our own childhood, remembering things we had not thought about for many years, or becoming particularly aware of things we would like to do differently with our own children.

There can be enormous pressure on parents today to get parenting “right”. There are countless books, social media accounts, opinions and expectations about what we should be doing — from pregnancy onwards. It can sometimes feel as though we are expected to be the perfect parent, to know exactly what our baby needs, and to make the right decision every time.

A central part of my work is helping parents develop a sense of being “good enough” —  Parenting inevitably involves moments when we get things wrong, feel overwhelmed, or don’t know what to do. These moments do not mean that you have failed.

Instead, I am interested in helping parents develop the capacity to notice what is happening, repair when things have been difficult, and return to connection. Secure relationships are not built from getting everything right; they develop through thousands of everyday interactions, including the moments when we reconnect after things haven’t gone as planned.

How I work

I work relationally and from an attachment-based and compassion-focused perspective. This means that I am interested not only in the difficulties you are experiencing, but also in understanding why they make sense in the context of your life and experiences. I work integratively, meaning I don’t stick to one model of therapy; rather, I work with you to decide what will be helpful at what time, and this can change over the course of our work.

When working with parents who are getting to know their baby and developing their relationship, I see this relationship as something that develops together. Rather than simply focusing on changing a child’s behaviour or teaching a parent what they “should” be doing, I am interested in helping parents develop curiosity about their own and their child’s internal experiences. For this work, I draw from Lighthouse Mentalisation-Based Therapy Parenting and Circle of Security Parenting.

Therapy with me is collaborative. I will work with you at a pace that feels manageable and aim to offer a warm, down-to-earth and non-judgemental space where you can bring both your vulnerabilities and your strengths.

A little more about me

Outside of psychology, I love to spend time with my puppy, family and friends. I enjoy creative activities with friends. I enjoy going on long walks in the countryside that often end in a lovely pub meal and the occasional shandy.