Meet Sanam Shamtobi, Ph.D | Founder and Lead Clinical Psychologist of The Mother Hood

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sanam Shamtobi, Ph.D and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sanam, how does your business help the community?
I’ve always believed mothers are the heartbeat of a community, but even a heartbeat needs to be sustained. Becoming a mom, including the labor of trying to come a mom, has this way of cracking you wide open—it expands your empathy and turns you into a fierce advocate for the world your children will inherit. But as a psychologist, I also know that the quiet, invisible work a woman does inside her own mind and body is what truly creates that outward change.

When I became a mother three years ago, I was caught off guard by the sheer weight of it. I was genuinely happy, yet I felt completely lost at sea. Navigating the crushing mental load and postpartum anxiety while trying to reconcile those two conflicting truths was exhausting. I created The Mother Hood because I needed a lifeline that I had a hard time finding—a shame-free sanctuary in Los Angeles for women across the entire childbearing lifespan.

Whether we are in our Brentwood office, on a screen, or sitting on a client’s couch for an at-home visit, our mission is to end the isolation of the modern mother. We provide specialized, nonjudgmental care for everything from infertility to the seismic identity shifts of parenting. When we support a mother’s mental health, we aren’t just healing one person; we are steadying the heartbeat of an entire family and community.

What should our readers know about your business?
At its core, my work is about the things we’re taught to keep quiet—especially in motherhood. I’m the founder of The Mother Hood here in Los Angeles, a maternal mental health practice dedicated to the raw, complex transition of becoming a parent. We support individuals and couples through the entire arc, from trying to conceive through whatever comes next.

What sets us apart is that we don’t look at a struggling mother and see a ‘diagnosis.’ We see a person moving through an intense, often isolating transition without the village she was promised. I work with women who are incredibly high-functioning and capable, yet they feel like they’re quietly falling apart behind closed doors. My job isn’t to ‘fix’ them, because they aren’t broken—they are just deeply under-resourced. We focus on building emotional tolerance and making real, messy, actionable changes so they don’t just gain insight but actually start breathing again.

The Mother Hood was born from a mix of clinical expertise and personal frustration. As a psychologist, I saw the gaps in our healthcare system; then, three years ago, I became a mother and fell right through them. I realized there is the ‘marketed’ version of motherhood, and then there is the reality. I wanted to build a sanctuary where that reality could exist without judgment, without toxic positivity, and without the crushing pressure to ‘just be grateful.’

Building this wasn’t a linear path. I had the clinical training, but building a business from the ground up was a different beast. There were so many moments of doubt—making big financial bets, hiring a team, and trusting my gut when the external validation wasn’t there yet. I had to practice exactly what I teach my clients: how to tolerate uncertainty and move forward even when you don’t feel ‘ready.’

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that clarity only comes from action. You can’t think your way into a meaningful life or a successful business; you have to build, stumble, and refine as you go. I’ve also had to learn that I cannot do this perfectly. Running a practice while raising a young family requires fierce boundaries and a willingness to be ‘good enough’ so I can stay present for both.

I am most proud of the fact that we’ve created a space that is both clinically rigorous and deeply, unapologetically human. It’s a place where you are seen, challenged, and held all at once. My work isn’t about ‘fixing’ mothers—it’s about changing the way we value and support them. When you give a woman the tools and the honesty she deserves, she stops just surviving her life and actually starts experiencing it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oh, how fun! Hopefully my best friend would be happy staying local because long drives to Silverlake to check out the newest Thai restaurant aren’t in the cards with my 3 year old and 10 month old in the backseat. There is actually this newsletter that just came out that highlights all the new and exciting changes coming to Brentwood, where I live and where the practice is located. It’s called “The Sunny Sheet” and I refer back to it a lot when deciding where to go. So, Malou for our morning matcha and breakfast burrito is a must. I also recently went to La Monique at the renovated Oceano Hotel in Santa Monica and was blown away, so definitely a dinner there. The Wilkes also just opened up nearby and their bar is the place to go if you want a legit cocktail and french fries. Fun looks a lot different these days, so just going for walks and having good conversation goes a long way. Downtown Culver City is a great place for that- a lot of easy places to land, but it’s still cool enough for someone visiting to experience a mini-scene of LA life!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My husband, Yoav, deserves the loudest shoutout my lungs could ever give! He is the definition of a partner- he supports my dreams and makes them his own. His love of his own mother and our children have culminated in me feeling so loved and cared for in my transition into motherhood and there is no way I could be balanced as a working mom if it wasn’t for his efforts to make sure I didn’t get lost in the fray.

Website: https://www.themotherhoodla.com

Instagram: @themotherhoodla

Facebook: TheMotherHoodLA

Image Credits
Sara Lazio