Mothercentric Counselling: Holding Mothers at the Centre
“When the mother is supported, the whole family feels the ripple effects. But first and foremost, she feels whole within herself.”
What does it mean to be mothercentric?
When we think about motherhood in our culture, so often the focus is placed on the child. We hear about child-centred parenting, child development, and attachment theory. While these conversations matter, they can also leave mothers invisible in their own stories.
The mothercentric view asks us to shift the lens. Instead of seeing the mother only in relation to her child, we honour her as a whole person with her own needs, identity, and unfolding journey.
How this shapes my counselling practice
This perspective is at the heart of how I work with mothers in counselling. Many women arrive in counselling sessions carrying guilt, overwhelm, or exhaustion. They have absorbed messages that their worth lies in how well they meet the endless needs of others. Yet very few spaces exist where they themselves are centred, heard, and held without judgment.
A mothercentric approach recognises that a mother’s wellbeing is not separate from her family’s wellbeing. Supporting the mother supports the whole.
In my practice, this means:
I don’t see you as “just a mum” or only through the lens of your parenting role
I see you as a layered, complex human being with your own inner world
Together, we explore your values, needs, and the systems and expectations that shape your experience
We create space for your voice, your grief and your dreams
What this might look like in session
Sometimes it looks like slowing down enough to feel your exhaustion and grief. Sometimes it’s about reconnecting with joy, creativity and your identity beyond motherhood. And sometimes it’s gently untangling the cultural narratives that tell mothers they must constantly sacrifice themselves in order to be “good.”
Counselling with a mothercentric lens is about reclaiming space for yourself. It’s about remembering that your worth is not measured by productivity or by how much you give. You are already enough, and you deserve care and attention in your own right.
You are not just a mother - you are a whole person, and that wholeness matters.
A personal reflection
I came to this understanding not only through my studies and counselling work, but through my own lived experience of becoming a mother. After the birth of my first child, and later as I navigated the intensity of raising twins, I found myself caught in that familiar pull to disappear into the needs of everyone else.
The messages about being selfless and endlessly giving felt louder than my own inner voice. It was only when I began to re-centre myself, acknowledge my exhaustion, to grieve the parts of me that felt lost, and to slowly reclaim space for my creativity and identity, that I felt a sense of wholeness returning.
This experience has shaped the way I now sit with other mothers. I know the power of being witnessed in your fullness, and I know how transformative it can be when the mother is finally brought back to the centre of her own life.
If you’re a mother who feels invisible, overwhelmed, or unsure where “you” fit into the story of your life, you are not alone. Counselling offers a space where all of you is welcome.
I would be honoured to walk alongside you as you reconnect with yourself, reclaim your worth, and find steadiness in your unfolding journey.