In this episode Cath chats to coach and psychotherapist Ali Pember about what it means to be a good enough mother. This episode is full of insight and realness which many of you will identify with. Cath and Ali discuss Ali's journey to motherhood and how she has grown herself up along the way. Ali explains how she approached motherhood (an approach which will resonate with many Mums).

She explains what she determined was important in her mothering, how she pushed herself to get everything perfect and how ultimately this was unsustainable and impossible. Ali speaks about the importance of compassion, how she extends this to herself and to the ongoing work of nurturing relationships with our children and ourselves. Ali speaks to the social context of motherhood and illustrates some of this with a story from her own life, highlighting the way mothers are held to impossible standards. Please see all Ali's details below.

Ali Pember 

Ali Pember is a Psychotherapist and Coach specialising in Perinatal Mental Health and Matrescence (the transition to motherhood). She works mainly with mothers, encouraging them to trust their own judgement in raising their children, with a strong emphasis on 'good enough' parenting. Ali brings tools and perspectives from her background in Cognitive Psychology and Mindful Self Compassion to this work. She also situates individual distress within a social context: dismantling the guilt, shame, stress, and anxiety that is often a product of the 'Perfect Mother Myth' and other forms of social conditioning. Her main aims are to help you to realise that you are not alone, to help you make sense of your identity as a mother, and to help you focus on what really matters for your family, rather than what you think you 'should' be doing. 

Social media 

Handles are @goodenoughmamas on both Instagram and Facebook 

Current offerings 

Ali has some availability for 1:1 sessions.

Ali has run a series of workshops looking at the 'shoulds' that often undermine our experience of motherhood / parenting: https://www.goodenoughmama.co.uk/workshops

These workshops are all available as recordings and Ali will be running a group coaching programme around these themes in the New Year. Please see further details about the workshop content below:

1. PRESSURE TO BE PERFECT

2. COPING WITH MIXED FEELINGS

3. MANAGING THE MOTHERLOAD

4. LOSING / FINDING YOUR IDENTITY 

If you're enjoying this podcast. Please leave a review and rate the podcast, this really helps others to find it.

To sign up for the journal prompts and Nurture.Heal.Grow (on Substack) please head to www.cathcounihan.com or @cathcounihan on Instagram. 

Follow Cath on social media here:

Instagram: @cathcounihan

Substack: Nurture.Heal.Grow

Facebook: Cath Counihan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.