Why choose a LMFT with a Systemic Lens for Perimenopause Support
Because you’re not “too much.” You’re in a system that expects too little of others.
Perimenopause can be a deeply challenging season. It’s not just hot flashes, sleep changes, and shifting hormones — it’s identity, relationships, emotional labor, and often a profound feeling of disconnection from yourself and those around you.
In times like these, therapy can be a lifeline. But not all therapy is created equal. Choosing a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) who uses a systemic lens can change everything.
What Does “Systemic Lens” Mean in Therapy?
Therapists trained with a systemic lens don’t just look at your symptoms — they look at the context around them.
Rather than asking, “What’s wrong with you?” a systemic therapist asks, “What’s happening around you that’s making this so hard?”
Systemic therapists consider:
Your relationships (partner, children, friends, family)
Gender roles and expectations
Cultural and generational narratives
Emotional labor you may carry invisibly
Life transitions (like perimenopause)
Patterns from your family of origin
Social systems that impact your well-being (e.g. patriarchy, ableism, capitalism, etc.)
It’s about understanding you in context — not isolating you as a problem to be fixed.
Why This Matters in Perimenopause
Perimenopause isn’t just a biological change — it’s a lifequake.
And women going through it are often:
Misunderstood (by partners, doctors, even themselves)
Dismissed or told to “just push through it”
Carrying years of invisible emotional labor
Feeling lost, angry, or ashamed for finally needing support
This is where the systemic lens shines.
A systemic LMFT doesn’t pathologize your experience. Instead, they normalize, validate, and contextualize it.
They help you:
See how your emotional symptoms may be responses to decades of overfunctioning
Understand your anger or grief as signs of emerging clarity — not dysfunction
Identify the invisible roles you’ve been cast in (caregiver, peacemaker, fixer) and ask: Do you want to keep them?
Explore how changing dynamics in your body impact dynamics in your relationships
Rebuild your connection to Self — not just by processing trauma, but by honoring your full system
LMFTs Aren’t Just for Couples and Families
Although LMFTs are trained in relationships, that doesn't mean we only see couples or families.
In fact, our training in systems theory makes us ideal for working with individuals — especially those feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or unheard in their current systems.
If you’re a woman navigating perimenopause and feeling any of the following:
“I feel invisible at home.”
“My partner doesn’t get it — and I don’t even know what to say anymore.”
“I used to hold everything together. Now I feel like I’m falling apart.”
“I’m angry all the time, and I don’t know why.”
“I’ve spent my life caring for others — when is it my turn?”
…then working with a systemic therapist might be exactly what you need.
Why I Chose the Systemic Path
As an LMFT, I was drawn to systemic work because it finally gave language to the things so many of us feel but don’t know how to name:
Why women feel emotionally alone in their marriages
Why “talking about it” doesn’t always help
Why symptoms like anxiety, resentment, or emotional shut-down often have relational origins
Why so many women hit perimenopause and feel like they’re waking up after 20 years on autopilot
Systemic therapy helped me stop asking what’s wrong with me? and start asking what has my system required of me that I can no longer sustain?
That question alone can be life-changing.
You Deserve to Be Seen in Context — Not Just in Crisis
Therapy is more than symptom management. It’s about reclaiming your voice, shifting your patterns, and healing in the presence of someone who sees your full story — not just your struggles.
Perimenopause is not a breakdown. It’s a threshold.
And with the right support, you can walk through it with clarity, confidence, and connection.
Ready to Start?
I offer individual and group therapy for women navigating perimenopause, identity shifts, burnout, and relationship challenges — all through a systemic, compassionate lens.
Grief isn’t always about death—it can come from change, distance, or losing a sense of who you are.
I'm Katherine Linscott, LMFT. I offer Grief Therapy for those navigating life shifts like emotional distance from family, identity loss, or transitions that leave you feeling untethered.
I also offer therapy for women 45+ and their support systems going through perimenopause.
This season of life is complex—but you don’t have to go through it alone. Learn more about me, or visit my Blog & Podcast or Homepage.