Today we’d like to introduce you to Libby Marler.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional based in Fort Worth, and I specialize in supporting women through pregnancy, postpartum, motherhood, grief, and loss. My path into counseling was shaped both by professional training and personal experience.
I earned my bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Furman University and later completed my master’s degree in Clinical Psychology at The Citadel Graduate College. Early in my career, I found myself drawn to the areas of maternal mental health, trauma, and grief work. I saw how many women were quietly struggling during seasons that are often expected to feel joyful or natural, especially during pregnancy and early motherhood. I also noticed how difficult it could be for women to find support that felt both clinically informed and deeply compassionate.
Over time, I pursued additional specialized training in perinatal mental health and EMDR, and my practice naturally evolved toward working primarily with women navigating postpartum anxiety, depression, intrusive thoughts, birth trauma, identity shifts in motherhood, infertility, miscarriage, and infant loss.
Part of what shaped my work most deeply was my own experience with infant loss. Walking through grief personally changed the way I understand pain, support, and healing. It gave me a deeper appreciation for how isolating these experiences can feel and how important it is to have spaces where people do not have to explain or minimize their emotions. While I never want my clients’ stories to become about mine, I do think that lived experience has made me a more grounded and empathetic counselor.
For several years, I worked within a group practice before eventually launching my own private practice, Libby Marler Counseling. Starting my own practice allowed me to create a space and approach that fully reflected the kind of care I wanted clients to experience, calm, relational, practical, and deeply human. I currently work with women across Texas through both in-person and virtual counseling sessions.
A large part of my work now also involves education and advocacy around maternal mental health. Through social media, blogging, and community connections, I try to normalize conversations around postpartum struggles, overwhelm, grief, and the realities of motherhood that many women feel hesitant to talk about openly.
What continues to motivate me most is helping women feel more understood, more emotionally equipped, and less alone in the hardest seasons of their lives.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Like most people who start a private practice, it definitely has not been a completely smooth road. There have been a lot of meaningful moments, but also a lot of uncertainty, growth, and learning along the way.
One of the biggest challenges has been building a business while also trying to stay fully present as a clinician. Counseling is deeply relational work, and I care a lot about creating a thoughtful experience for clients. At the same time, owning a practice means wearing a lot of hats outside the therapy room… marketing, website management, SEO, scheduling systems, networking, finances, and all the behind-the-scenes work people often do not see.
Emotionally, this work can also be heavy at times. I sit with women in some of the hardest moments of their lives… postpartum struggles, traumatic births, infertility, miscarriage, infant loss, anxiety, and grief. It is an incredible privilege, but it also requires intentional boundaries and self-awareness so I can continue showing up well for clients without losing myself in the process.
Personally, walking through my own experiences with loss while continuing to support others through theirs added another layer of complexity. There were seasons where I was simultaneously grieving and growing professionally. In some ways, though, those experiences also strengthened my work and helped shape the kind of counselor I wanted to become.
I think another challenge has been trying to push back against unrealistic expectations around motherhood and mental health. So many women feel pressure to appear like they are handling everything well, and part of my work has been helping normalize conversations around overwhelm, anxiety, identity shifts, and grief. Building a practice centered around those conversations sometimes means talking openly about topics people are uncomfortable discussing.
At the end of the day, though, even the difficult parts have felt worthwhile. Seeing clients begin to feel more hopeful, more connected to themselves, and more confident in their ability to cope is what keeps me grounded in the work.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Libby Marler Counseling?
Libby Marler Counseling is a private counseling practice based in Fort Worth, Texas that specializes in maternal mental health, grief and loss, and supporting women through seasons of transition and overwhelm. I work primarily with women navigating pregnancy, postpartum anxiety and depression, intrusive thoughts, birth trauma, infertility, miscarriage, infant loss, parenting stress, and the emotional weight that can come with motherhood.
One thing that is really important to me is creating a counseling experience that feels both clinically informed and deeply human. I think many women are used to feeling like they need to hold everything together or minimize what they are carrying. My goal is to create a space where people feel understood without judgment and supported in a practical, relational way.
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional (PMH-C), and I have pursued additional training in trauma and EMDR. While education and specialized training are incredibly important, I also believe clients can feel when someone genuinely understands the emotional complexity of what they are experiencing. My own experiences with grief and loss have shaped the way I approach this work with a great deal of compassion and sensitivity.
I think what sets my practice apart is the combination of specialization and relatability. Maternal mental health and grief are often areas where people feel isolated or misunderstood, and I try to create content and conversations that help normalize those experiences. Whether through counseling sessions, blog writing, social media, or community connections, I want women to feel less pressure to “perform” motherhood perfectly and more permission to be honest about how they are doing.
Brand-wise, I am probably most proud of building something that feels authentic to who I am and how I work. I wanted the practice to feel calm, approachable, and personal rather than overly clinical or impersonal. From the office environment to the way I communicate online, I try to make things feel warm, grounded, and accessible.
I also care a lot about education and advocacy around maternal mental health. There is still so much stigma surrounding postpartum struggles, intrusive thoughts, grief, and the identity shifts that come with motherhood. One of my goals is helping women recognize that struggling does not mean they are failing.
Ultimately, I want people to know that they do not have to wait until things completely fall apart to seek support. Therapy can be a place to process, heal, build coping skills, strengthen relationships, and better understand yourself before reaching a breaking point. My hope is that people leave counseling feeling more emotionally equipped, more self-compassionate, and more connected to themselves and the people they love.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I think one thing worth recognizing is that mental health struggles do not always look the way people expect them to. Especially for women and mothers, it is very possible to look high-functioning on the outside while quietly carrying a tremendous amount internally. Many of the women I work with are incredibly capable, caring, and hardworking, but they are also exhausted, anxious, overwhelmed, grieving, or constantly feeling like they are falling short.
I would also love for more women to feel comfortable seeking support before reaching a crisis point. Therapy is not only for the hardest moments. It can also be a place to slow down, process experiences, build healthier patterns, strengthen relationships, and better understand yourself during seasons of change.
I think we are slowly getting better as a culture at talking about maternal mental health, grief, and emotional well-being, but there is still a long way to go. My hope is that conversations around postpartum struggles, infertility, miscarriage, infant loss, and motherhood become more honest and compassionate. People should not feel pressure to hide difficult experiences simply because they are uncomfortable for others to hear.
Another belief that shapes my work is that healing is rarely linear. Growth often looks less like a dramatic transformation and more like learning to respond to yourself with greater awareness, flexibility, and self-compassion over time.
More than anything, I hope readers walk away encouraged to pay closer attention to the people around them. Small moments of support, honesty, and connection matter more than we realize. Many people are carrying far more than others can see.
Pricing:
- Individual Counseling – $195
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.libbymarlercounseling.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/libbymarlercounseling/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578441046643
