Therapy for Dads & Non-Birthing Partners

Point Pleasant, NJ and virtual across NJ, VA, MD, DC, TX, FL, and VT

You’ve been the one holding it together. That worked for a while.

Now the fuse is shorter than it used to be. You’re working more, sleeping worse, and snapping at people who don’t deserve it. You watch your partner struggle and you can’t fix it, which is the one thing you’ve always been able to do. Or you’re standing in the kitchen at 6 p.m. hearing a version of your own father come out of your mouth, and you swore you’d never do that.

This is what the transition to parenthood looks like in a lot of men. It’s just that nobody calls it that.

Who I work with

• Fathers and non-birthing partners in the first months or years after a birth
• Partners going through infertility, IVF, or a long conception process
• Men who’ve experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, TFMR, or infant loss alongside their partner
• Partners who witnessed a traumatic birth, hemorrhage, emergency cesarean, or NICU stay
• Dads supporting a partner with postpartum depression or anxiety who are running out of gas
• Men who want to parent differently than they were parented and keep hitting the same wall

You don’t need a diagnosis to be here. You need a problem you’re tired of having.

What we actually work on

The shorter fuse. Where the anger is coming from, what sets it off before you notice, and how to catch it earlier — including when you’re exhausted, which is when it matters.

Your own grief. If you’ve lost a pregnancy or a baby, you likely never got to claim that loss as yours. That grief doesn’t expire. It waits.

Birth trauma. What you saw in that room can produce genuine post-traumatic symptoms. Nobody screened you for it. It responds well to treatment.

Supporting her without vanishing. Concrete language for hard moments, how to tell exhaustion from something clinical, how to say you’re struggling without adding to her load, and what to do with resentment you’re not supposed to have.

The pattern you inherited. The reaction that rises in you toward your kid is old, and it’s not willpower that changes it. It changes when you understand what’s getting triggered and build a response that’s actually available to you under stress.

The 11 p.m. fight. Division of labor, mental load, feeling like staff in your own house — the argument you keep having in a slightly different costume.

How I work

I’m Jerusha Hull, LCSW, PMH-C — a licensed clinical social worker with specialized certification in perinatal mental health and 16+ years working with families through fertility, pregnancy, loss, birth, and early parenthood. I hold a postgraduate certificate in fertility and loss, and I’m recognized as a subject matter expert by a leading perinatal professional organization.

I draw on CBT, ACT, IFS, and attachment-based approaches. In plain terms: we handle the immediate problem and the reason it keeps coming back.

Concrete. You leave sessions with something to use, not just something to think about.

Time-limited. Most partners I work with do a defined stretch of focused work and finish. You’re not signing up for the rest of your life.

No performance required. You don’t have to cry, name your feelings correctly, or open with your childhood. Bring the practical problem. The rest surfaces when it’s useful.

Yours. This is confidential and it’s your hour — not an extension of anyone else’s treatment.

Logistics

In person: Suite 1A, 1009 Arnold Ave, Point Pleasant, NJ
Virtual: NJ, VA, MD, DC, TX, FL, and VT
Evening availability for people who can’t leave work mid-day
Cash-pay practice. I’m out of network, which means no diagnosis is required for insurance purposes and no insurer directs your care. I partner with Mentaya to file for out-of-network reimbursement automatically — many clients get a meaningful portion back. See rates :#https://virtuecounseling.com/rates-insurance/

Common questions

I’m not depressed. I’m just angry and tired. Is this for me?
Yes. Irritability, withdrawal, and overworking are among the most common presentations of perinatal distress in men. Sadness is often the last thing to show up, if it shows up at all.

My partner is the one who went through it. Isn’t this taking something from her?
No. Having your own experience doesn’t subtract from hers. Partners who get their own support are measurably better partners — that’s not a rationalization, it’s the clinical reality.

Is this couples therapy?
No. This is individual work focused on you. It often improves the relationship substantially, but the room is yours.

How long does it take?
It depends on what you’re bringing. We’ll talk about it directly in the first session, and I’ll give you a straight answer rather than an open-ended one.

Start with a call

A free 15-minute consultation. No intake paperwork, no commitment. You’ll know quickly whether this is worth your time, and if I’m not the right fit I’ll tell you and point you somewhere better.

Schedule a consultation →//calendly.com/virtuecounseling/free-consultation

[email protected] · 571-635-5855