Amy Lucas

Hi, I’m Amy

I’m a Registered Social Worker with more than 20 years of experience supporting people through anxiety, grief, trauma, health challenges, caregiving, and significant family transitions.

I work primarily with parents whose pregnancy, birth, or postpartum experience did not unfold the way they expected. This may include a traumatic birth, a complicated NICU admission, infertility, pregnancy or infant loss, postpartum anxiety or depression, or becoming a parent later in life.

I also support people adjusting to serious health events, extended hospital or ICU admissions, caring for an aging parent or an ill partner, and the emotional impact of working in healthcare or as a first responder.

My approach is straightforward, grounded, and honest. I will not minimize what happened or rush you toward a positive interpretation before you are ready. We can acknowledge the grief, fear, anger, and uncertainty while also figuring out what will help you move through daily life with more stability.

When parenthood does not feel the way you thought it would

You may have expected this period of your life to be tiring, but you did not expect to feel frightened, detached, angry, or unable to recognize yourself.

Perhaps you cannot stop replaying the birth or loss in your mind. Even when you are trying to focus on your baby, your partner, or your work, part of you is still back in the hospital room, waiting for the next test result or hearing the sounds of the NICU.

You may find yourself checking constantly, worrying about your baby’s health, or feeling unable to relax even when everything appears to be going well. You might snap at your partner or older children, withdraw from people who do not understand, or feel guilty because you are not enjoying this time in the way you thought you would.

You have probably handled difficult things before. You may even be the person everyone else relies on, which makes it especially frustrating that you cannot simply reason or push your way out of this.

These reactions are not evidence that you are failing as a parent. They can be understandable responses to trauma, loss, prolonged uncertainty, depression, or a nervous system that has not yet realized the emergency is over.

Pregnancy, postpartum, and family transitions

Not every family begins with a straightforward pregnancy, delivery, and homecoming.

Some parents spend weeks or months moving between home and the NICU. Others are recovering from a frightening delivery, grieving a pregnancy or infant loss, coping with infertility, or adjusting to a baby with complex medical needs.

Parents having children later in life may also be caring for aging parents, managing established careers, blending families, or beginning the postpartum period with older children and complicated family dynamics already in place.

Stepfamilies, blended families, and second families can bring their own questions about roles, expectations, loyalty, parenting, and connection. Therapy gives you somewhere to talk about those complications honestly, without needing to pretend that gratitude cancels out grief or that loving your family makes every part of the transition easy.

Health, caregiving, and occupational trauma

A serious illness, critical care admission, or extended hospital stay can leave emotional effects long after the immediate medical crisis has passed.

You may feel constantly watchful for symptoms, frightened by medical appointments, or unable to trust your body. Family members and caregivers can also experience intrusive memories, exhaustion, helplessness, and anxiety after watching someone they love become critically ill.

I also work with healthcare workers and first responders who have been exposed to distressing events, high-stakes decisions, serious injuries, loss, or cumulative workplace stress. You may be very good at functioning during a crisis but notice that the emotional impact follows you home through sleep problems, irritability, anxiety, disconnection, or difficulty switching off.