Why Menstrual Cycle Awareness Matters in Mental Health Counselling
When you begin working with a therapist, one of the first things you’ll likely experience is a series of questions aimed at helping your therapist get to know you. These initial questions are designed to build a holistic picture of your life and explore the factors that may be contributing to your mental and emotional health.
Your therapist may ask about your sleep patterns, your thought processes, the quality of your relationships and social support system, and other lifestyle factors. These areas are explored intentionally—because the more aware you are of the influences on your mental health, the more agency you have to make changes that support your well-being.
But there’s one area of mental health that is still deeply under-recognized in the world of counselling: the impact of the menstrual cycle.
Despite research showing that up to 80% of women experience changes in their mental health at some point in their lives due to their menstrual cycle, very few therapists specifically ask about it. This oversight is even more significant for those living with existing diagnoses such as PMDD, depression, anxiety, or PTSD—conditions that can be profoundly affected by hormonal fluctuations.
This is why Menstrual Cycle Awareness (MCA) is such an important and empowering part of mental health care.
What is Menstrual Cycle Awareness?
Menstrual Cycle Awareness is a practice developed by Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer and Alexandra Pope in the UK. At its core, it’s a daily mindfulness practice that invites you to tune into where you are in your menstrual cycle and intentionally reflect on how you’re feeling—physically, mentally, and emotionally.
In my counselling practice, I guide clients to start each day by identifying what day of their cycle they’re on. From there, we explore four key areas:
Body – How does your body feel today? Is there any tension, pain, or a sense of ease?
Mood & Emotions – What’s your emotional state like? Are there particular feelings that are present or absent?
Thoughts & Mind – What kind of thoughts are showing up? Are they more negative or positive? Focused inward or outward?
Energy – What are your energy levels like today? What physical or emotional capacity do you feel you have?
This daily check-in helps create a deeper awareness of how your mental health is influenced by your cycle—and with that awareness comes power.
How MCA Supports Your Mental Health
When you track these shifts over time, patterns begin to emerge. You may notice that certain symptoms—like anxiety, low mood, irritability, or fatigue—regularly align with specific phases of your cycle. Understanding these patterns can help us create a counselling plan that works with your cycle, not against it.
Menstrual Cycle Awareness gives us crucial insight that might otherwise be missed. Without it, we’re potentially overlooking important information that could help guide your healing and growth. By including MCA in therapy, we open up new possibilities for deeper self-understanding, self-compassion, and effective, personalized care.
