Duxbury, Massachusetts wellness clinic explores new approach to maternal mental health: "This is an oasis"

Soleo, a maternal health and wellness clinic in Duxbury, Massachusetts, is offering mothers a different kind of support to deal with Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.

The treatable conditions can include depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, and psychosis. They affect approximately one in five women during pregnancy or within the first year after giving birth, yet many still go untreated. 

Creating a safe space 

"If it doesn't exist, you have to build it," said co-founder and perinatal therapist Liane Dupuis. 

She and co-founder Jackie Megill, a healthcare operations expert, teamed up to create Soleo after recognizing what they saw as a major gap in maternal healthcare. Dupuis said part of the inspiration came from her own personal loss. The center's name combines "Sol," the Latin word for light, and "Leo," a tribute to her late son.

"I have four children. Three here, Leo passed shortly after birth," Dupuis said. "Something that I felt during that time was the way people showed up. There was a lightness in this really dark time. I attribute a lot of that to being OK in the way that we can be OK after something like that. So feeling that and really wanting to give that to other women." 

Dupuis and Megill said they intentionally designed Soleo to feel more like a wellness space than a traditional medical clinic — hoping to remove some of the stigma and fear that can prevent women from seeking support.

"Moms need to feel cared for," Megill explained. "They need to experience that tender support because we're doing that for everybody else all the time, and we rarely put ourselves first. When you can make the care feel more approachable, it makes a world of difference."

Support at Soleo can look different for every mother.

The center offers motherhood circles where women can connect over shared experiences ranging from sleepless nights to infertility journeys. There's also outpatient therapy, intensive day programming for women experiencing perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, and holistic services like sound healing. The center also provides on-site childcare support and works with most major insurance plans — barriers the founders said often prevent mothers from accessing care.

Soleo also recently launched a Community Access Fund, which provides financial assistance for women who may not be able to afford treatment.

"This is an oasis" 

For Megan Flaherty, Soleo became a lifeline after the birth of her newest baby.

"I've always struggled my whole life with anxiety and OCD," Flaherty said. "It got a lot worse during my pregnancy and postpartum. I think the sleep deprivation is hard too and some of the hormonal shifts of course."

She said one of the hardest parts was overcoming the stigma surrounding maternal mental health.

"It's a very isolating experience too. You don't want to feel like you're broken or not a great mom," she said.

Flaherty said the environment at Soleo immediately changed how she viewed getting help.

"I came and visited and was like, 'Oh my God, this is an oasis," Flaherty explained. 

One of the center's more unique offerings is sound healing, a holistic practice designed to help calm the nervous system and create a sense of full-body relaxation for mothers navigating anxiety and postpartum struggles.

"It's a level of peace and zen that you just feel in your full body," Flaherty said. "I'm so grateful, I think it completely expedited my healing."

Dupuis said combining traditional therapy with holistic modalities like sound healing has led to significant progress for many women, with some seeing symptoms improve in six to eight weeks.

The founders' hope is simple: that more women will feel seen, supported, and comfortable asking for help during one of the most challenging transitions of their lives.

"Even when motherhood goes really well," Dupuis told a room full of mothers during a recent session, "it is the hardest thing you will ever do."