We recently connected with Gabi Kass and have shared our conversation below.

Gabi, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Is there a heartwarming story from your career that you look back on?

As a mental health therapist who works with pregnant and postpartum individuals, I’ve been honored to walk alongside clients who make small and huge emotional transformations – from feeling down and overwhelmed to hope and strength. One heartwarming moment stands out to me from a postpartum wellness group I facilitated earlier in my career that I will continue to feel inspired by.
The postpartum group I facilitate is a group of new or returning mothers* (with their babies) who are navigating the emotional ups and downs of motherhood. We had been talking about the feelings of overwhelm, guilt and exhaustion that come with the postpartum period. One mother, who I will call Olivia, was telling us about a moment when she was so drained from breastfeeding the baby all night that she didn’t have the energy to read her 2 year old son a bedtime story the following night.
Olivia said, “I felt horrible. It was our special thing that I did with my son since he was born. We would cuddle up and read a book before he would fall asleep. I felt so guilty that he would feel forgotten!” She started to tear up and her unspoken pain could be felt in the room.
And there it was. The stigma of being a “good” mom. The pressure to be everything to everyone, all the time. And I realized how much mothers are expected to carry, even when they are struggling or exhausted.
I was struck by Olivia sharing so articulately, and I was also struck by the other mothers’ reactions: the other mothers slowly began to share similar struggles they were experiencing, each mother feeling more validated by hearing the next. They spoke of the crushing expectations, the invisible load of responsibilities that gets thrown on a mother the day she gets pregnant, and the feeling of failure in having to take care of their own physical and mental health while taking care of a newborn. It became clear that matrescence, the emotional, physical and social transition of becoming a mother, was so much more complex that we were ever taught to believe.
This was a turning point for me because it solidified to me that my role wasn’t to help these mothers “bounce back”. My role was to facilitate a space where they could just be, and to remind them that they weren’t alone, how ever difficult or complicated their situation felt. It reaffirmed my belief that the answers are truly within, so my role was really to to guide mothers return to what feels right to them. It solidified for me that my work is about helping mothers recognize their worth and navigate the complexities of motherhood.

*Please note the word “mother” is used in this article but I want to acknowledge that the postpartum experience can be felt by anyone who has recently given birth, regardless of how they identify.

Gabi, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I founded a mental health practice called Imagine Therapy California, where I specialize in those individuals who are in the perinatal (pregnancy and postpartum) period and also those who are trying to conceive or have undergone a pregnancy loss. I have both clinical and lived experience in this arena as I experienced 2 miscarriages between giving birth to 2 living sons.
In my clinical work, I’ve connected with so many individuals who have undergone a miscarriage or another type of pregnancy loss and are experiencing the grief and “what if”s. I’ve heard from so many others who have wanted to process their pregnancy loss to eventually be able to prepare for a future pregnancy. I’ve connected with so many individuals who are in the postpartum period (whether they’ve had a prior pregnancy loss or not) and trying to adjust to what feels like a whole new life and also trying to figure out how to take care of a newborn while also taking care of themselves. My work focuses on meeting clients where they are and tailoring a treatment plan to their individual goals.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

It was my second year as a postpartum therapist, and I felt like I was really starting to understand the nuances of supporting parents. My therapeutic style was calm and attentive. But what no one knew was that I was facing something myself: a miscarriage, a silent grief. I also would go on to have another miscarriage, that time a twin pregnancy.
My first miscarriage was at 5 or 6 weeks, a pregnancy that was very much wanted and planned. The loss was sudden, days after celebrating that I was pregnant. First, there was confusion if the bleeding was implantation related, meaning things were still on track, or if it was a loss. It felt like I was re-reading a page in a book I had read before, only the book had words from my clients’ experiences. And now it was happening to me.
My second pregnancy loss was a twin pregnancy. The pure shock I experienced when I was told it would be twins! But the excitement had set in before my 10 week appointment. We envisioned my 2 year old son playing with two younger siblings in the future. We envisioned cramming 3 car seats in the back seat of our small car, the kids passing toys to each other. And in the blink of an eye, the excitement was taken from us. At our appointment, the doctor had told us that it was a double loss twin pregnancy. It felt like a deep emptiness that took over my body. The grief felt most intense and all-encompassing at the beginning but after a while, it lost its sharp edge. I was able to return to work when I felt ready. I heard the stories of individuals who suffered sudden pregnancy losses. I heard the stories of individuals who felt that deep emptiness and grief.
And in that moment, I realized that my work had gotten even more meaningful. I was now in this enormous “club” of women who had experienced pregnancy loss. I feel at that moment I began to understand the depths of both my own and my clients’ resilience: moving forward in life while grieving angel babies.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

The podcast “How I Built This” by Guy Raz has impacted my entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy by allowing me to get an inside look at the way other entrepreneurs think. The podcast shows both the struggles and successes of companies, A key takeaway from this podcast for me has been that being an entrepreneur is a winding path, and success often comes with some failures and pivots.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.imaginetherapyca.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imaginetherapyca/profilecard/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==