therapy specialties
Couples Therapy for New & Expecting Parents in California
Are you feeling disconnected from your partner?
→ Preparing for a baby—or adjusting to life with one—can bring you closer. But for many couples, it also brings distance, conflict, and overwhelm.
→ If your relationship feels different than it used to, you’re not alone. And it doesn’t mean something is wrong with you or your partner.
→ It means you’re in a major life transition—and you may need support from a professional who actually understands and can support you both.
You Thought Parenthood Would Bring You Closer… But Instead…
You’re fighting more than you used to
Communication feels harder—or shuts down completely
You feel overwhelmed, unsupported, or resentful
You miss how things used to feel between you
Maybe you’ve even wondered: “Is this normal after having a baby?”
The truth is—relationship strain during pregnancy and postpartum is incredibly common. But that doesn’t mean you have to stay stuck in it.
I believe Couples Therapy for New & Expecting Parents can help you get unstuck and rebuild connection.
Your Relationship Doesn’t Have to Get Lost in Parenthood
Becoming parents is one of the biggest identity and relationship shifts you’ll ever go through.
Without support, couples often fall into patterns like:
Miscommunication and repeated arguments
Emotional disconnection
Unequal division of responsibilities
Feeling unseen or unappreciated
Therapy gives you a space to slow down, understand what’s happening beneath the surface, and rebuild connection intentionally.
A Holistic, Mind-Body Approach to Couples Therapy
At Grow & Well, therapy goes beyond just communication tools.
Your work together may integrate:
Somatic therapy to understand stress and nervous system responses
Polyvagal-informed tools to support regulation and connection
Attachment-based work to deepen emotional safety
Evidence-based couples approaches to improve communication
Because when you’re sleep-deprived, overwhelmed, or touched out—
this isn’t just a “communication issue.”
It’s a nervous system and relationship system issue.
Couples Support for Every Stage of Parenthood
At Grow & Well, our relationship therapy is designed for couples who are:
Planning for a baby
Currently pregnant
Adjusting to life postpartum
Navigating early parenthood stress
Whether you’re feeling disconnected now or want to protect your relationship before things get harder, therapy can help.
How Couples Therapy for New & Expecting Parents Can Help You.
-
Learn how to slow down conversations before they turn into arguments.
Using Gottman-informed tools, you’ll build skills to express needs clearly, listen with intention, and stay engaged—even during difficult moments.
Somatic awareness also helps you recognize when your nervous system is activated, so you can respond rather than react.
-
Pregnancy and early parenthood often bring up new vulnerabilities and emotional needs.
Through an attachment-focused lens, you’ll learn to recognize what’s happening beneath the surface and respond with greater empathy.
EMDR-informed work can also help uncover how past experiences shape current reactions and needs in your relationship.
-
The transition to parenthood can create stress, imbalance, and shifting expectations.
Together, we’ll explore how these changes impact your relationship and use somatic tools to regulate stress responses.
Gottman-based strategies support collaborative problem-solving so you can navigate this stage with more clarity and teamwork.
-
Many couples feel disconnected after having a baby. Therapy creates space to rebuild emotional closeness and safely reconnect physically at your own pace.
By integrating somatic, EMDR, and Gottman approaches, we address both the emotional and nervous system layers that influence intimacy and connection.
-
It’s easy to fall into survival mode and feel like you’re just managing tasks.
Using Gottman Method principles, you’ll strengthen your foundation of friendship, shared meaning, and partnership.
This work helps you feel more aligned, supported, and connected—not just as parents, but as partners.
Looking for a Structured Way to Prepare Together?
If you and your partner are expecting—or planning for a baby—you may want more than ongoing therapy.
You may want a clear, research-based roadmap for staying connected through this transition.
If you’re looking for a more structured, short-term option, you can also explore the Bringing Baby Home Workshop for additional support.
It’s especially helpful for couples who want to be proactive—before patterns of disconnection or resentment set in.
Hello. I’m Dr. Priscilla W. Malm, your Couples Therapist near SF Bay Area, California.
Healthy, connected relationships are built through self-awareness, intentional communication, and the ability to grow together through change.
As a holistic, trauma-informed psychologist, I offer couples therapy for new and expecting parents in California, helping you and your partner understand the deeper patterns that may be creating distance, conflict, or disconnection—especially during pregnancy and early parenthood.
Together, we explore the underlying barriers shaped by stress, past experiences, and this major life transition, so you can feel more supported, understood, and connected in your relationship.
My approach is warm, relational, and holistic, integrating both emotional and nervous system awareness to support meaningful, lasting change.
When you’re ready, I invite you to take the next step toward building a more connected and resilient partnership.
The Process -Couples Counseling for New & Expectant Parents
-
Step 1: Contact Us
The therapy process begins when you reach out to schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation.
You may reach out to us by filling out an inquiry through our contact page, call (650-257-0126), or email (info@growandwell.com) us.
-
Step 2: Consultation
In the free 15-minute phone consultation, we will discuss the reasons you are seeking couples therapy and explore what you are hoping to achieve.
You will also have the opportunity to ask questions and determine if my approach and style align with your needs.
-
Step 3: Intake Session
In your first session, we’ll take time to get to know both of you and your relationship more deeply. We’ll explore your backgrounds, current challenges, and the patterns or dynamics that may be contributing to conflict or disconnection.
We’ll also begin identifying shared goals for therapy, so our work together feels focused, collaborative, and aligned with the kind of relationship you both want to build.
-
Step 4: Ongoing sessions
In our ongoing sessions, we’ll learn practical tools to improve communication and deepen connection.
Drawing from the Gottman Method, you’ll build skills to navigate conflict and strengthen your relationship. We also integrate somatic and EMDR approaches to help you understand how stress and past experiences shape your responses, so you can relate to each other with greater awareness, flexibility, and care.
