I wondered if anyone else had sought psychological support from professional after their miscarriage(s) and, if so, what they thought of it? It would be good to know who you saw e.g. general therapist / counsellor, or someone with a specific approach.
I am currently in the process of pursuing CBT to help me deal with anxiety and possible PTSD after recurrent losses. As an academic I am also trying to figure out why there hasn't been a recent research review on this subject. A few examples from the research literature, which I found interesting:
In 113 women with a miscarriage at < 20 weeks, prevalence of PTSD was 25% at 1 month and 7% at 4 months. The symptom-severity was similar to other traumatized populations. Women with PTSD had increased risk of depression: 34% of PTSD cases and 5% of non-cases reported depression. At 4 months rates for depression had not declined.
abstract here
Review of the literature from 2007: Up to 50% of miscarrying women suffer psychological difficulties after loss. About 40% had symptoms of grief shortly after miscarriage, and pathological grief can follow. Elevated anxiety and depressive symptoms are common, and major depressive disorder occurs in 10–50% after miscarriage. Symptoms can last 6-12 months after miscarriage. Women at most risk had prior psychiatric illness, were childless, lacked of social support, had marital adjustment problems, and had prior pregnancy loss. Unlike in PND, screening measures of psychological morbidity after miscarriage have not been well established. abstract here
81 women with recurrent miscarriages completed questionnaires designed to assess depression, anxiety and general health. This data was matched with data from their medical notes to ascertain demographic and reproductive variables. 33% were depressed, 9.9% moderately and 7.4% suffering from severe depression. 21% had levels of anxiety equal or higher to a typical psychiatric outpatient population. Neither age, cigarette consumption, alcohol intake, previous live birth, number of miscarriages, lateness of miscarriage nor length of time since last miscarriage were found to affect the degree of psychiatric morbidity. These findings add to our understanding of the degree to which recurrent miscarriage can affect mental health. abstract here