Amanda Timonere spent a decade at the top of the clinical world — chief clinical officer of a multi-state mental health and substance use treatment center — before becoming a mom and realizing she wanted to do something different. Not because she couldn’t do the job. Because she was missing time with her kids and because she saw a gap in care for mothers that she was uniquely positioned to fill.
Now she runs Zenful Mamas, a private practice and coaching platform built around perinatal mental health and the concept of matrescence — the neurological and psychological transformation of becoming a mother. In this conversation, Ashley and Amanda talk about what that transformation actually looks like, why so many women arrive at motherhood completely unprepared for it, and what it means to break the cycle of the blueprint you didn’t know you were carrying.
In This Episode
What matrescence is — and why most mothers have never heard of it
The neurological reality of what happens to our brains when we become parents
How Amanda’s own anxiety through pregnancy and postpartum led her to this work
Walking into motherhood with a generational blueprint you don’t know exists
Why women — especially high-achieving women — resist asking for help
The difference between therapy and coaching, and how Amanda decides which one a client actually needs
Her 12-week program “Rewrite Before You Repeat” — and what it’s designed to do
Navigating the relationship between new parents and grandparents when parenting philosophies clash
Why the women who appear to have it all together either have a lot of help or aren’t telling the whole story
The AI dependency conversation — what it means for mental health support and clinical training
Solo parenting a two and four year old while running a practice — what that actually looks like
Her vision for Zenful Mamas as a hub for maternal mental health — therapy, coaching, breathwork, Reiki, and more
Quotes From This Episode
“We’re walking into motherhood with a blueprint that we don’t even know exists.”
— Amanda Timonere
“It’s not a matter of weak or strong. There is a neurological change in our mind that’s happening and it’s so far beyond our control.”
— Amanda Timonere
“Preventative care is the best care.”
— Amanda Timonere
“Having kids is like holding up a mirror to yourself. It’s like everything is exposed and we’re figuring it out.”
— Amanda Timonere
“There’s no prize at the end of the day for doing it all perfectly. There’s never going to be a medal ceremony and someone will be the valedictorian of motherhood.”
— Ashley Blackington
Resources & Links
Zenful Mamas: zenfulMamas.com
Instagram: @zenful_mamas
Zenful Mamas Inner Circle — low-commitment monthly groups for nervous system regulation
12-week coaching program: Rewrite Before You Repeat
Connect with Ashley:
Website: https://www.ashleyblackington.com
Podcast website: https://www.andbothpodcast.com/
Dovetail® App: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dovetail-app/id6744341822
Instagram: @mydovetail.app
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