We recently connected with Megan MacCutcheon and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Megan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Recently, I decided to expand my practice and take two big steps — One, to hire clinicians to help support more moms in our community and two, to join forces with my pelvic floor PT friend to open a new space that will house both our practices as well as other small businesses who share our mission to support families during pregnancy, postpartum and beyond. We took on a lease for a large space last month with the hopes of building a holistic and collaborative center that will be a one-stop shop for the clients we serve. So far, we have mental health services, physical therapy, lactation, massage, fitness, yoga, and educational birth services being offered at Be Hive Wellness. (www.behivewellness.com)

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a maternal mental health therapist with a private practice in Northern Virginia. I’d been a therapist for years before I had kids, and with the birth of my second child I experienced postpartum anxiety.

At the time, despite being a therapist, I hadn’t even heard of postpartum anxiety (only postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis), thus I chalked my symptoms of (brain fog, confusion, overwhelm, racing thoughts, and the constant need to be productive) up to the stress of adjusting to life with two kids versus one.

Eventually my symptoms escalated to include scary thoughts, like “What if I throw my baby down the stairs?”, which I knew was a reason to get help. After being treated and feeling like myself again, I wanted to know why I, as a therapist, didn’t have postpartum anxiety on my radar. I began taking courses and ultimately got certified in perinatal mental health and have since shifted the focus of my practice to include supporting women during the perinatal period.

I love working with moms who are struggling with stress or perinatal mood & anxiety disorders during pregnancy or after having a baby. This can be such a vulnerable time, filed with so many emotions, and I believe all new families need support in navigating this major life transition.

In my therapy practice, Be Well – Wellness (www.bewell-wellness.com), we provide individual, couples, and group therapy. I also used EMDR, a cutting-edge trauma therapy tool, to help people work through traumatic birth experiences.

I’ve also created two online resources in order to provide support to more women outside of just those who reside in my state:

The Birth Bundle (https://stan.store/perinatalplace/perinatalplace_store/page/114590), created with my pelvic floor PT friend, Katie Bayer, (www.transitionphysicaltherapy.com) offers birth prep strategies from a mind-body perspective to help women stay grounded and in control during their labor and delivery.

My Empowered Motherhood course (https://www.meganmaccutcheon.com/empoweredmotherhood) offers strategies to help moms feel calm, confident, and well-balanced in motherhood.

I’m really proud of the amazing connections and partnerships I’ve made in this field. I’ve made some incredible friends and feel well-prepared to connect families to all the resources they need to navigate the ups and downs of parenting.

How’d you meet your business partner?

I’d been a solo mental health practitioner for years when I met Katie Bayer, my now business partner. She’d just started up her physical therapy practice a few blocks down from my office and reached out to network. Within minutes of meeting, we realized we both had the same long-term vision: To create a holistic space where families could find all the resources they need to navigate pregnancy, postpartum, and parenting. We both strongly believe in the importance of addressing the mind-body connection in healing and achieving optimal wellbeing.

We began referring our clients to one another and found that patients who were stuck in one way or another would get better results when engaging in both forms of therapy. Whether it’s a mental block, such as holding on to anger, or a physical issue, such as muscle tension that won’t relax, people often need to consider both mind and body aspects in order to get the results they desire.

Katie and I quickly became friends and connected with so many other amazing professionals and business owners focused on our niech. We weren’t yet ready to move offices, but wanted a place to house all the resources we were compiling for the families we work with. We started a website, www.perinatalplace.com, to offer various types of support to people in our community. Eventually, we made the move to fulfill our dream: We leased office space together and started Be Hive Wellness. (www.behivewellness.com)

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Getting to where I am now has been a series of pivots over the years. Some easy and others more difficult.

When I became passionate about maternal mental health and discovered how much I loved working with soon-to-be and new moms, it was an easy decision to pivot the focus of my practice to serve this population. Prior, I’d worked a lot with teenagers and young adults, and I specialized in helping people to build self-esteem. As I became a mom myself, my after-school and evening openings were limited. The shift in focus helped in achieving a better work-life balance that allowed me to see clients during the day and be home with my kids in the afternoon/evening.

During the COVID-19 pandemic there was a huge shift where therapists had to pivot to offering services via telehealth. The advent of virtual sessions has been a blessing in many ways. It allows for options in how to give and receive support. In addition to providing both in-person and virtual sessions, I also had the opportunity to create online courses and workshops. My Become Your Best Self bundle of workshops (https://www.meganmaccutcheon.com/bybs) has allowed me to continue offering support and strategies to individuals who want to feel their best, even if we don’t meet face-to-face.

More recently, as I decided to expand my practice and open a new office space, I’ve had to make the decision to say goodbye to the office space I’ve called home for more than 12 years. Change is hard and I don’t love goodbyes, so this hasn’t been easy. Closing that chapter of my life and parting ways with my former officemates feels sad, but sometimes grief is a part of growth and moving forward.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.meganmaccutcheon.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meganmaccutcheonpmhc
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meganmaccutcheonpmhc
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-maccutcheon-0133151/
• Other: www.meganmaccutcheon.com www.bewell-wellness.com www.behivewellness.com

Image Credits
First two (of me & Katie) are Becca Allen Photography Rest are Jamie Sutera Photography