Kate Duffy, LCSW (she/her)

My Story

Let’s be honest: becoming a parent is absolutely wild. It is both the hardest and most wonderful thing I’ve ever done. Whether you’re a parent now or thinking about becoming one in the future, you know that this journey can bring up a ton of vulnerability, anxiety, and fear.

As a neurodivergent person who has benefited tremendously from therapy, I know firsthand that finding the right support can feel overwhelming and often demoralizing. I bring my own unique experience and story to the therapy process just like you do. Here’s a little bit about me:

Anxiety has been a cornerstone of my life for as long as I can remember. Though I was diagnosed as a child with generalized anxiety disorder, I later began to experience terrifying intrusive and obsessive thoughts and compensated for my fears with compulsive behaviors and rituals that I tried desperately to hide from others. At 25, I was diagnosed with OCD, which helped me contextualize the symptoms that had taken over my life that didn’t quite fit into the model of generalized anxiety. Being able to diagnose and address my OCD and to learn about myself as a neurodivergent person has allowed me the capacity to fulfill one of my lifelong desires: being a parent. I am fortunate enough to have two incredible daughters who have cracked open my world and forever reshaped it for the better.

Despite loving and delighting in my children, becoming a parent (in 2020, no less!) was HARD. I was overjoyed to learn I was pregnant. But the beginning of the pandemic led to a massive flare in my OCD symptoms. My fears about the change I was embarking on got to me. Big time. My first daughter arrived and though I loved her instantly, I felt myself backsliding into terror and sheer panic. I felt like I was failing constantly and that my brain was a scary and bad place that was fundamentally unsuitable for parenting. Everything felt wrong. I felt at my core that I was deficient and that my sensory needs, compulsions, and intrusive thoughts were signs that I was not going to be a good mom. In fact, I was pretty sure I was going to ruin my child (spoiler alert: she’s fine).

Through all of the spinning out and feelings of being imprisoned by my own thoughts, I was very lucky to get the help I needed. To now be able to give that back to other parents who are struggling is a tremendous honor.

I wish I could say that all these years later, I’ve got it all figured out. But the truth is, no one does. While I have grown tremendously as a mom and find so much more joy and contentment in parenting, I’m deeply aware that it is always a series of peaks and valleys. The highs are high and the lows can be really low. But what I also know is this: you do not have to do this alone. You are a good parent and you can feel more embodied in your needs, less anxious, and more confident. I can help you get there.