Dr Diane S Speier is a birth and postnatal professional and a perinatal psychologist, specializing in the the psychological issues that occur during pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period. She is an American living in England, and prior to emigrating to the United Kingdom in 1998, she was the founder and director of The Family Tree Center for Parents in New York for 15 years. The Family Tree offered classes, groups, workshops and individual counseling to prospective and new parents.
Diane became a certified childbirth educator in 1978, and offered birth preparation courses and taught classes in fitness to pregnant and postnatal women for 20 years. She also started attending births as a labor companion, a doula, in 1978, and is an enlightened and experienced guide for facilitating birth. No longer attending births, she is dedicated to helping families have the best possible postpartum start, both locally and digitally, through her virtual doula after birth care.
Diane is also a psychotherapist and hypnotherapist who works with clients to learn and grow through brief therapy, and to quickly reach the point of independence and mastery over their circumstances. She has a BA in Psychology and an MA in Applied Psychology, with a specialty in The Psychology of Parenthood. In addition to her general practice, Diane specializes in the psychophysiology of birth, reconciling birth trauma and other unresolved conflicts from previous birth experiences, and perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.
Diane’s book Life After Birth: A Parent’s Holistic Guide for Thriving in the Fourth Trimester was published in April 2019. Digital Doula® was first launched in 2013, and Digital Doula® 2.0 has been redesigned and redeveloped to complement and supplement the book with lots more content and links, for a relaunch in 2019. Diane is also the mother of four grown children and the grandmother of five. You can find out more about Diane’s work here.
