Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Del Fierro Monroy.
Hi Karen, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My journey into perinatal support began in 2014 during my Medical Social Work internship at Rady Children’s Hospital, though not in the way I expected. I was assigned to the NICU due to last-minute staffing changes, and I’ll never forget how my stomach dropped when my supervisor shared the news. A neonatal intensive care unit sounded terrifying. But in hindsight, the moments when I had no choice became the ones that shaped my purpose the most.
What began as fear quickly turned into awe. I supported families watching their tiny babies endure surgeries, fight through feeding challenges, and grow against all odds. Many were first-time parents navigating the unimaginable, learning to advocate for their children while coping with grief, fear, and uncertainty. Witnessing their strength and tenderness, I knew I had found a space to support others in a time that felt raw and sacred.
I continued supporting families through the perinatal journey as a per diem social worker at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital, walking alongside those experiencing pregnancy complications, miscarriage, and postpartum struggles.
After years of supporting others through the challenges of motherhood, I suddenly found myself walking that path firsthand. In 2020, I became pregnant with my son—a journey that unfolded during a global pandemic, included a NICU stay, and was followed by postpartum preeclampsia that led to a hospital readmission just one week after giving birth. The very experiences I had held space for in others were now becoming part of my own story. Once again, what felt out of my control became a catalyst for deeper purpose. When I returned from maternity leave, I began offering therapy through virtual platforms like Octave and Maven, now with an even more personal understanding of the terrain.
In 2024, after welcoming my second child, I took the biggest leap of all and launched my private practice, Flourish, a perinatal practice, on Mexican Mother’s Day. Since then, growing my own perinatal practice has been a beautiful unfolding of collaboration, healing, and growth.
As a first-generation Mexican American, Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), and certified perinatal mental health professional (PMH-C), I carry deep cultural awareness and generational insight into my work. I understand how systems, family expectations, and silence around emotional pain can impact healing, and I hold that with care in the therapy room.
Today, I wake up honored to support families through infertility, high-risk pregnancies, NICU experiences, grief and loss, and perinatal mood disorders. In helping others flourish through their most vulnerable moments, I’ve learned that this sacred work transforms us all.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My journey into business ownership hasn’t been the smoothest. Beyond the usual fears of starting something new, I was carrying the very real pressure of generating income for my family after my partner was unexpectedly laid off. Additionally one month after launching my practice, I also lost my father quite suddenly. Grieving such a profound loss while growing a new business and holding space for others stretched me in ways I didn’t know were possible.
And yet, once again, I found that allowing myself to be raw and tender with my own pain taught me how to do the same for others. Over and over again, I’ve learned that struggle can be a portal to something meaningful. That truth has become an anchor in my life, my business, and in the way I support clients.
Owning a business as a first-generation Latina has also challenged the way I view entrepreneurship, identity, and what it means to be a provider. My mother was a devoted homemaker who never worked outside the home, so stepping into the role of business owner felt like rewriting a script. I’ve had to unlearn old narratives and redefine what leadership, strength, and success look like for me—as a woman, as a Latina, and as a mother.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Flourish is a perinatal therapy practice rooted in compassionate, culturally responsive care. I specialize in supporting individuals navigating the perinatal umbrella—including infertility, high-risk pregnancies, NICU stays (current or past), birth trauma, grief and loss, and postpartum challenges.
I’m especially passionate about working with parents of medically complex children, BIPOC women, high-achieving “Type A” women, medical professionals, and those who are often “the strong one” in their families or communities. Many of my clients are used to being the ones everyone leans on. In therapy, they finally have permission to care for themselves with the same intensity and compassion they offer others.
What sets my practice apart is the way I integrate deep nervous system healing into the therapeutic process. I’m trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), a powerful modality for trauma processing, and I offer EMDR intensives for those seeking deeper healing in a shorter period of time. I’m currently training to combine EMDR with ketamine-assisted therapy for clients seeking a soul-deep, accelerated healing experience—especially around trauma that feels “stuck” in the body.
In addition to individual therapy, I’m expanding into community offerings. Starting in October, I’ll be teaching postpartum anxiety classes through the New Mom School in Liberty Station. I’m also collaborating with my wonderful colleague, LCSW Emily Holland, to launch a perinatal group that offers connection, education, and therapeutic support.
Flourish was created to be a soft landing place for people in their most tender, complex seasons of life. It’s not just a therapy practice, it’s a space where vulnerability is honored, culture is respected, and healing is deeply supported. What I’m most proud of is the way my brand reflects that mission, while staying rooted in lived experience, professionalism, and care.
What matters most to you? Why?
I believe that healing begins when we feel safe enough to let go, to be seen, and to be held in our vulnerability without fear. I strive to make therapy feel relational, grounded, and human—where clients can reconnect with themselves and experience vulnerability not as weakness, but as strength.
A core part of my work is helping clients redefine what it means to be “strong.” So many of the women I work with have been taught to push through, hold it together, and care for everyone else before themselves. I gently challenge that. To me, strength looks like surrendering to what hurts so it can be tended to. It’s giving yourself permission to feel the grief, the fear, the rage, and allowing space for your healing.
I’m also deeply committed to dismantling the unrealistic narratives around motherhood that are often perpetuated on social media. The curated images of perfect pregnancies, seamless postpartum journeys, and smiling babies don’t reflect the raw, messy, and transformative reality that so many mothers face. I want women to know that the identity reckoning, the emotional intensity, and the deep unraveling they may be experiencing are not only valid—they’re normal. They’re human. They’re sacred.
What matters to me is truth, tenderness, and helping people reclaim their stories in a way that honors both their pain and their power.
Pricing:
- 45 Minute Session- 200
- 60 Minute Session-220
- Insurance Accepted-Aetna
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.flourishwithin.me
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flourishperinataltherapy/
