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My approach is...

Relational - Healing happens in connection. I am here to come alongside you and provide compassionate support as you navigate the profound transition to parenthood.

Client Centered - In an age of information overload and competing expert opinions, I offer a reflective space where you can tune in to your own values, experiences, and intuition.

Existential - I have a soft spot for big questions. If you are drawn to exploring topics like death, meaning, human agency, or responsibility, I welcome those conversations. You won’t come away with tidy answers, but we will muddle through it together.

Cognitive Behavioral - Sometimes our thoughts, interpretations, and inner narratives contribute to our distress. When helpful, we will gently identify patterns that no longer serve you and practice shaping beliefs that are more flexible, compassionate, and supportive.

Spiritually Sensitive - Whether spirituality or faith has been a source of comfort and meaning, turmoil or trauma (or some combination of all the above), you’re welcome to bring that part of yourself into our work. I honor the complexity of spiritual experiences.

Loss Informed - Grief is woven into the human experience---to love is open ourselves up to the risk of loss. Even joyful transitions have elements of letting go as we close one chapter and move on to the next. I approach our work with an understanding of how loss—big or small, clear or ambiguous—shapes our lives.

 

We were never meant to do this alone. I’m passionate about helping clients feel supported both inside and outside the therapy room. I stay connected with local resources and maintain strong referral relationships with other providers so we can coordinate care and ensure you receive the support you deserve.

Connections

More about me...

Professional Experience

I have always been drawn to working with parents and their babies, long before I became a parent myself. Throughout high school and college, I volunteered and interned in a variety of nonprofit settings providing services to families with young children and discovering how much I valued walking alongside them.

After completing my master's in community counseling, I spent three years providing case management and intervention services to expectant and postpartum parents who were considered at risk for substance abuse disorders. This experience showed me how deeply parents long to be the best version of themselves for their children.

When I became a parent, I understood on a deeper level how universal the need for support truly is during this transformative time. I pursued advanced training in perinatal mental health through Perinatal Support Washington and earned certification through Postpartum Support International. Over the past four years I have provided clinical support to parents navigating Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs), birth and NICU trauma, pregnancy and infant loss, and the profound transition to parenthood. 

Education and Trainings

Masters of Arts in Community Counseling

Denver Seminary

Lifespan Integration Level I and II

Perinatal Mental Health Certification (PMH-C)
 

Personal

I grew up in Arizona and spent five years traveling as a military spouse before settling down in Duvall, Washginton. I enjoy playing nerdy board games with my husband, reading with my three children, and sharing food and conversation with friends.

Image by Joshua Lawrence
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Passages Perinatal Mental Health

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 © 2026 by Cherise Benson, LMHC

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