Claire Judd
Therapist for Maternal Anger, Anxiety & Overwhelm
When motherhood keeps pulling reactions out of you that you don't recognise and it just isn't the experience you hoped for.
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Not because you don't love your child.
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Not because you're doing it wrong (you're trying so hard to get it right).
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But because ordinary moments can suddenly feel too much and because some of what’s coming up now may have roots long before you became a parent.
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For many of the mothers I work with, this isn’t about ‘anger issues’ or a lack of patience. It’s about a nervous system that’s been carrying too much, for too long and the ways our early experiences continue to influence how we react and respond today. And that's on top of the mental load that comes with being a mum in today's society.
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If you find...
A small request for water at bedtime, turns into a rush of anger that scares you.
A reach for comfort can tighten your chest instead of softening it.
You have moments where your heart races, you see red, or you shut down completely.
And afterwards you're left wondering 'what just happened?'
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​You're in the right place.
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I'm Claire, and I'm really glad you're here.
"It can be really hard putting into words how you've been feeling - not just content but because the emotions feel scary. But Claire is the most amazing therapist, there is absolutely no judgement, just total recognition of what you're going through and solid, consistent support to work through it."
Mum of 18 month old
"I thought I was such an awful mum, it took me so long to come to see you because I was just so ashamed. but I view myself so differently now."
Mum of 2 year old
"I came wanting strategies to cope with it all, and yes we explored some strategies, but it wasn't that that helped, it was being really, truly listened to and understood. Claire allowed me to get to my emotions when I felt ready, she helped it feel less scary and now I feel so much more secure in sharing that part of myself. I'm no longer bottling it up and anger is no longer exploding out of me."
Mum of 7 and 4 year old
Does this feel familiar?
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It's early morning, coffee going cold on the side again, you try to brace yourself for another day, but you can already feel the tension in your body and know you'll be snapping before breakfast is done.
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It feels like you don't have patience. Your body feels brittle. And you know by the time it gets to bed time, it will be the same story as always...begging them to sleep, gritting your teeth, not wanting to lose it with them but feeling like it's a train you just can't stop.
So many mums tell me they feel confused...that their reactions don't match their desires they have to give their child the connection they want.​
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You love your child deeply.
​And still there are moments when something in you feels overwhelmed, flooded or unreachable.
​Moments when you think:​
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Why am I reacting like this?
Why can't I handle this when I care so much?
What's wrong with me?​
Let me be clear: there is nothing wrong with you.​​
There is a reason your body reacts this way, and once that reason is understood, those reactions stop feeling so frightening and out of control. ​
So many mums I work with learned ways of coping that once helped them get through difficult moments. Those responses were intelligent. Protective. Necessary.​
But motherhood has a way of applying pressure where old strategies no longer work.
​So your body reacts fast.​
Or shuts everything down.​
Not because you're not cut out for motherhood, but because it's trying to protect you with tools it learned a long time ago. ​
Therapy with me, isn't about trying to 'fix' you
We don’t just look at what’s happening now.
We also explore how some of your reactions might be shaped by early experiences, the ways you had to cope, the support you didn’t get, or the patterns you learned to survive.
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In therapy, we don’t start by asking you to change your behaviour.
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We start by helping your body feel safer.
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Because when your body isn’t constantly braced or on high alert, your capacity naturally changes.
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Over time this means:
☆ Those ordinary moments don’t escalate in the same way
☆ You’re not carrying hours of guilt afterwards
☆ You can pause more often before reacting
☆ And perhaps most importantly, you stop feeling afraid of your own responses
You begin to notice the difference between what’s happening now, and what you’ve carried forward from the past.
And that understanding helps you respond in ways that feel conscious, gentle, and more connected.
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When your body no longer feels under threat, your reactions soften, often more quickly than you expect.
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Not because motherhood becomes easy.
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But because you’ve made room for more choice, connection, and repair, both with yourself and with your child.
Hello, I'm Claire
I'm an NCPS Accredited Maternal Psychotherapist, and a mum of two.
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After having my first child, I felt completely cracked open.
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Parenting felt impossible, not because I didn't care, but because my body and mind were so completely overwhelmed. My heart would race. My chest would tighten. Anxiety was ever present. And sometimes the anger that bubbled under the surface came out as visceral rage.
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