Perimenopause, Menopause and Therapy.
Claire Dale, Therapist at Holden Place Therapy
Why hormonal care and psychological support work best together.
“I don’t feel like myself anymore.”
One of the most frequent sentences I hear when talking to my female clients for the first time.
For many women, perimenopause and menopause bring more than physical symptoms.
Sleep becomes disrupted, experiencing insomnia one night, waking up at 3am the next and exhausted when you wake up. Anxiety appears unexpectedly, in the middle of the night or in situations that felt manageable before. Confidence drops in lots of areas like driving, body image, socialising etc. Irritability feels unfamiliar and let’s not even begin to talk about unexpected rage!
Hormones absolutely matter. Oestrogen plays a significant role in mood, cognition and emotional steadiness. For some women, medical support, including HRT, can be transformative.
But this stage of life is rarely just biological.
Perimenopause often coincides with major pressures, teenagers growing up, ageing parents, relationship strain, career reassessment, or unresolved grief. It can also reactivate earlier attachment wounds or trauma.
What looks like “sudden anxiety” is often complex and layered.
Therapy offers space to:
Make sense of emotional shifts
Work with anxiety and night-time dread
Rebuild confidence and identity
Strengthen boundaries and communication
Process grief, anger or confusion
Understand what is hormonal and what is situational
When hormonal care and therapy sit side by side, women feel properly supported. Not dismissed. Not pathologised. Not left doubting themselves and feeling like their best years are behind them.
Menopause is not a personal failure. It is a transition and with the right support, medically and psychologically, it can become a steadier and more empowered phase of life.
Don’t struggle on your own. Book a free consultation today with Holden Place Therapy and see if therapy is the right path for you.