Dr. Nicole Amoyal Pensak

Dr. Nicole Amoyal Pensak Clinical Psychologist in New Jersey and New York.

Harvard and Yale trained expert Psychologist that specializes evidence-based treatment for anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and postpartum.

04/13/2026

To use it: Breathe in 4, hold 4, out 6. Do this twice. Now pause. Your postpartum brain loves this. You can do this even while the baby is crying in your arms. Relax your body then respond. It will help@you problem solve more effectively.
Planet. Name it. Use it. Your postpartum brain is a superpower in disguise. Small, repeatable, micro habits, compound into visible shifts in mood, focus, and presence. Bring science to your daily routine and thrive as a mom. Save this real, try one micro habit today, and share your win in the comments.

04/06/2026

Welcome to your new motherhood experience - because you deserve more joy. Congratulations you’re expecting a bundle of joy, but what good is that if you can’t FEEL your bundle of joy. Time passes and you look back wishing for more moments. But you were robbed by the mental load, the new mom worries, the overstimulation, or mom guilt, anxiety, breastfeeding challenges or birth trauma. Or you had an uneventful early motherhood, but it feels like a blur. Like you want to go back and do it again, one more day relaxing and enjoying your baby after you know you got through. You deserve it all, you deserve more joy, more presence and being in your body, not just autopilot. I am here to teach you how. I have bundled it all up for you in my book RATTLED. I want you to memorize this phrase, make it your mantra - because this phrase is the KEY:
HOLD THE BABY,
Now put the baby on hold.
This is the moment, the pause, the breath that brings you into the present. Here you can then plan it (mental health), name it (matrescence), and use it (to bring growth and joy). All the science backed skills you will use in these moments are in RATTLED but I’ll be sharing some here too so make sure you follow along, send to a friend that is expecting, or has littles. Send to a partner, a caregiver, a grandparent so that they can support you to get the Motherhood Experience you deserve. No one has put postpartum mental health, matrescence, and neuroplasticity / growth/ joy together in this way before. RATTLED is the bundle of joy you deserve.

03/05/2026

Like all of you, I’ve been following the heart-wrenching story of Punch the Monkey.
Short of adopting him (which I seriously considered), I did the next best thing…
I found his mom and gave her a copy of RATTLED.
Turns out she was overwhelmed and showing classic signs of postpartum distress — withdrawal, reduced caregiving behaviors, isolation.
Yes… even monkeys can struggle with early motherhood.
The good news?
She was very receptive and is already feeling better.
Sometimes what new moms need most is evidence-based strategies, validation, and support to navigate the overwhelming transition into motherhood.
Let’s be honest — none of our hearts can handle another Punch the Monkey situation.
Maternal mental health matters… for all species.

03/05/2026

There’s a growing movement to add matrescence to the dictionary — the profound transition into motherhood.
That matters.
But mothers need more than a definition.
We prepare kids for adolescence.
We should prepare women for matrescence too.
That’s why I wrote RATTLED — a science-backed roadmap to early motherhood, covering the things no one explains:
mom brain
identity shifts
mom guilt
mom shame
mom rage
mental health
work transitions
relationship changes
Because motherhood isn’t just a life change.
It’s a brain and identity transformation.
Share this with a mom who deserves to feel prepared and empowered, not blindsided.

02/25/2026

Motherhood doesn’t just change your life.
It changes your brain.

That disorientation.
The anxiety.
The hyper-vigilance.
The identity shift.
The mental overload.

It’s not failure.
It’s not “mom brain.”
It’s matrescence — a profound neurobiological transition as significant as adolescence.

And yet most mothers are given zero explanation for what’s happening inside them.

I wrote RATTLED to change that.

RATTLED is the science-based roadmap to matrescence — translating the latest neuroscience and psychology of motherhood into language mothers can actually use to understand themselves.

Because when mothers understand:

• why anxiety increases
• why cognition shifts
• why identity reorganizes
• why sensitivity deepens

they stop thinking something is wrong with them.

Nothing is wrong.
Your brain is adapting to motherhood.

If you’ve ever felt changed, overwhelmed, or not like yourself after becoming a mother — this is the book that explains why.

Maternal mental health starts with understanding matrescence.
RATTLED is where that understanding begins. Send this to a friend that wants to know how to master matrescence.

10/14/2025

Big news! RATTLED has been named a 2025 National Parenting Product Award (NAPPA) Winner!
I’m so honored that RATTLED — my science-backed roadmap to calm new mom anxiety and harness the power of the postpartum brain — continues to be recognized among the best parenting resources out there.
This award means so much because it celebrates products that truly support parents and families, which is exactly why I wrote RATTLED — to empower mothers during one of the most transformative (and misunderstood) times in their lives.
Thank you to the National Parenting Product Awards for this honor, and to every reader, clinician, and parent who has shared, gifted, and supported this book.

09/29/2025

Thank you to and for hosting such a fabulous event yesterday! It was so wonderful connecting with colleagues in the field who are working tirelessly to support families in the postpartum period.
I’m deeply grateful for your support of my book RATTLED and loved meeting so many mothers, partners, and children. Together, we can — and we will — solve the maternal mental health crisis in the United States.
The future is collaboration, awareness, and action. Let’s keep building momentum.

09/14/2025

In honor of 9/11, my heart goes out to all families affected. Proud to serve my clients in a community that was so profoundly affected by 9.11.2011. Monmouth County NJ 💕

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P. O. Box 19, 20 Church Street
Little Silver, NJ
07739

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