You & your partner have been through enough in the time it took to get here. You don’t need to wing it on what comes next.
Before the baby arrives (or before things get worse), let’s get you both on the same page with a personalized intensive to help establish clear roles, honest communication, & a plan you can actually trust for postpartum, fostering, & adoption.
Remember: this isn’t ongoing therapy or a one-size-fits-all program, so naturally, it’s not structured like it either.
When it comes to parenthood, most couples don’t struggle because of a lack of love.
They struggle because no one helped them talk through what parenthood would ultimately demand of them.
We can tell you right now that the feelings of alignment, stability, & connection you’re craving with your partner aren’t unrealistic. But when you’re a matter of weeks or months away from welcoming your new baby, or you’re fully in crisis mode, the traditional weekly & open-ended therapy sessions may not help you get there fast enough.
You need focused, intentional conversations about your relationship, your stressors, & your real life, before the baby arrives & everything speeds up.
That’s why this program isn’t for everyone (& that’s on purpose).
You have your baby in hand, but can’t stop fighting & want tools to reconnect quickly.
You’ve experienced pregnancy or infant loss & don’t want grief shaping your relationship or forward path.
You’re parenting multiple children & the books don’t mention what’s different about your second, third, fourth time in this transition
You’re supporting a child with medical or developmental needs.
One of you is finding your way through substance misuse, recovery, disordered eating, or outside grief & stress.
You’re navigating the unexpected in your relationship (like infidelity, co-parenting, or a particular topic you keep arguing about).
You don’t have the bandwidth right now for weekly therapy, but you still want to make real, meaningful progress before the baby arrives.
You want to focus the conversations on specific topics that have come up in your relationship: intimacy, birth fears or medical trauma, parenting styles, in-law dynamics, or specific communication hiccups.
Here’s what would make you a great fit:
If you found yourself nodding along with one or more of these, then you’re in the right place for the support you need.
Here’s what our work together will look like:
Remember: this isn’t ongoing therapy or a one-size-fits-all program, so naturally, it’s not structured like it either.
- We start by getting super clear on your relationship, your current challenges, & what feels most urgent as you approach labor & delivery (or if you already are snuggling that sweet baby of yours).
- You’ll be guided through a comprehensive assessment that focuses on the points of friction around communication patterns, roles, family history, & the expectations you have for each other & for parenting.
- Our work will focus on the specific topics that are most crucial to your relationship, rather than pulling from a set curriculum that may not apply to you.
- The sessions are designed to go headfirst into the conversations you need to have before the baby comes, so we can make meaningful progress in a short amount of time.
- You & your partner will leave the intensive with clear agreements, common ground for your relationship & your growing family, & a plan that you can actually refer back to postpartum.
Remember: this isn’t ongoing therapy or a one-size-fits-all program, so naturally, it’s not structured like it either.
Everything involved in this program—& we do mean everything—is designed around your timeline, capacity, & the reality of what you & your partner are walking into, which is why the structure looks so different from traditional therapy.
A note about insurance:
This program is different, because it’s not just face-to-face time between you & your therapist. It’s a single, focused intensive designed around you & your partner, with personalization & follow-ups that extend well beyond the time we’ll spend together. Many couples choose this format because it allows us to go deeper into the issues you’re working through as a team, focus on solutions, & build momentum faster than you would with weekly therapy sessions.
Now let's get into the nitty gritty.
Preparing for a baby can bring up more than you expected.
Counting down the weeks until your new baby arrives can be one of the most exciting times of your life. However, it might feel like you’re racing the clock if you’re feeling detached from your partner, worried about how parenthood will change you or your roles, or wondering how you’ll possibly be able to keep your relationship alive postpartum.
& if you’ve already welcomed your new little love, you might be struggling with the delicate balance of caring for your baby & trying to stay connected with your partner.
Whatever your situation, many parents find it hard to keep their relationship healthy as ounces of milk & diaper cream become the new norm.
The Nesting Intensives allow you to get the support & shared understanding you need from a licensed therapist without the weeks or months of weekly therapy that you simply don’t have time for right now.
If that’s the kind of focus you’ve been looking for, you're ready for this level of intentionality.
What’s included:
A 60-minute intake session to understand your relationship, goals, & current stressors/ challenges
A comprehensive relationship assessment that will bring up areas of friction we can work through together (one for each of you to complete independently & on your own time)
A values-based activity to complete outside of the session to get to know yourself, & build on one another to create the family culture you both deserve
A 3.5 hour therapy intensive session with your therapist to dive deep before moving into a season of life that’s going to ask a lot of you (& on very little sleep)
An 80+ page personalized postpartum plan & workbook (delivered virtually) to help you continue & maintain your relationship’s progress—based on all the data provided in your questionnaire, too!
Investment:
$1,349
Payment plans are available.
Why this intensive format works
When you’re weeks away from meeting your baby, you don’t have time (or energy) to circle around the hard conversations. You need to get the full picture now, while you’re still in your nesting phase, before you’re half-asleep with a newborn in your arms. (& in case you’re wondering: YES, you can do this program even after your baby has arrived!)
The work is structured as an intensive because it allows us to look at the full picture of your relationship (the patterns, pressure points, & unspoken expectations) while there’s still time to act on that clarity.
Instead of spreading out the work over weeks or months, the extended session creates the space we need to go deeper without dragging out the process. It’s intentionally paced, includes small breaks, & is designed to be manageable alongside work, parenting, & whatever else this wild life has to offer you.
For most couples, this ends up being the most efficient way to prepare for postpartum rather than the most demanding.
(TLDR: Dragging these big conversations out during a time crunch makes them harder to have, not easier.)
Here's how it works:
You’ll also receive a guided activity to complete together, which your therapist reviews in advance. The activity focuses on values, priorities, & the kind of family culture you want to build.
This prep work shapes everything we’ll cover in your intensive session, so be sure to put your all into it.
A little homework to see how you work as a team
Getting clear on your relationship, goals, & challenges
Once you’re booked, you’ll each complete a relationship assessment on your own time. It’s intentionally thorough & designed to help bring patterns or pressure points to the surface that may show up in postpartum or early parenting.
We’ll start with a 15-minute call to make sure this is the right fit for you & your partner (& so you can meet your therapist!). We’ll talk through what’s bringing you here, what you want support with, & whether the intensive format makes sense given your timing & capacity.
A quick call to make sure it’s the right fit
The session isn’t an open-ended conversation; it's a collaborative, structured format to discuss the biggest stressors in your relationship before your new baby joins the family. Using your intake work, we’ll guide you through focused discussions around topics you’ve identified as most important right now. That might include division of labor (cue that same old fight you keep having about dirty dishes), navigating grief or anxiety, boundaries with family, intimacy, communication under stress, or planning for how you’ll support each postpartum.
The intensive session: your focused time to talk it all through
About a week after your intensive, you’ll receive your personalized postpartum relationship plan & workbook, which is built around the conversations & agreements you’ve made together. (Plus, it includes the topics that may need to be worked through later!)
This gives you something solid to come back to as you settle into life with your baby & continue building your relationship as parents & teammates.
Your relationship roadmap for postpartum (& beyond)
3
2
4
5
1
Who’s guiding you through this?
Hey there, I’m Riley, a licensed marriage & family therapist, & the owner of Holding New Therapy. I created The Nesting Intensives because I’ve seen how often couples carry the same questions & frustrations about their relationship into postpartum (& how exhausting the “figure it out as you go” method can be).
Our team of skilled therapists is here to give you & your partner the supportive space you need to talk about the topics that matter most, work through them with thought & intention, & walk into your next chapter feeling confident as teammates. We know that the foundation of your partnership is already there. We just want to help you get even stronger & more on the same page with each other before your baby arrives.
— H. M.
“My partner and I went to Riley for couples therapy and had a great experience. She made both of us feel heard and helped us work through some tough conversations around communication and future planning. The space always felt safe, supportive, and judgment-free. Riley’s approach is effective. We left each session feeling more connected and understood. Highly recommend!!”
— K. S.
“Using the ‘check-in with your partner’ tip helped us slow down and actually notice things we’d been missing. We’re more aware of each other now and trying to communicate more openly—and it’s made a real difference.”
— A. S.
“ A good space to get to talk with your partner in a controlled environment ”
— H. M.
“My partner and I went to Riley for couples therapy and had a great experience. She made both of us feel heard and helped us work through some tough conversations around communication and future planning. The space always felt safe, supportive, and judgment-free. Riley’s approach is effective. We left each session feeling more connected and understood. Highly recommend!!”
A few words from couples who’ve done this work:
— H. M.
“My partner and I went to Riley for couples therapy and had a great experience. She made both of us feel heard and helped us work through some tough conversations around communication and future planning. The space always felt safe, supportive, and judgment-free. Riley’s approach is effective. We left each session feeling more connected and understood. Highly recommend!!”
A few words from couples who’ve done this work:
Remember: this isn’t ongoing therapy or a one-size-fits-all program, so naturally, it’s not structured like it either.
Maybe you’ve noticed certain conversations that keep circling back.
If you’re weeks away from your due date, or already struggling with your partner over baby-related issues & thinking, “We’d probably feel better if we talked this through,” you’re probably right.
& this might be the moment to actually say it out loud before the demands of parenthood take over the conversation.
This work is that space for you & your partner. It gives you a chance to deal with whatever’s brought you here while you still have the energy & time to do it thoughtfully.
You two already love & care about each other—if you’re still here, that much is obvious. What we’re here to help you do is talk, think, reflect, & make a plan to move through postpartum as a team.
frequently asked questions
Why isn't this covered by insurance?
They tend to work best for couples who:
- Want to be proactive rather than waiting for things to fall apart
- Feel “mostly good,” but know stress is testing their connection
- Are motivated to grow, even when it feels uncomfortable
- Want more depth than a few standard sessions can offer
If you’re unsure, we’re always happy to talk it through & help you decide what makes the most sense for your situation.
How do we know this is a good fit for us?
If you are first-time parents looking to build a solid foundation, or you recognize the obstacles you may encounter, & you are comfortable with the process taking a few months, our Us After Baby program may be a better fit for you. If you have any questions on what program works best for you, don’t hesitate to reach out.
We’re first-time parents. Is this the best option for us?
What if our baby has already arrived & we’re currently in postpartum?
The Nesting Intensives can support you as you navigate uncertainty, secondary trauma, reunification dynamics, attachment concerns, & the impact of the system on your relationship, all while helping you stay connected as partners.
We’re foster parents. Would we benefit from The Nesting Intensives?
We’re adoptive parents. Would we benefit from The Nesting Intensives?
Can we do this in addition to individual therapy?
What if we still need couples therapy after our baby arrives?
How long will it take us to complete the questionnaire?
For the questions that you don’t discuss directly with your therapist, you’ll have the data (helloooo, bar graphs & quick feedback write-ups) to continue the work at home—before it becomes a problem.
What’s the point of the questionnaire if we’ll be meeting with you?
Walk with us here.
50-min couples therapy sessions are $175 for the intake & $155 for follow-up sessions. As part of The Nesting Intensives, you & your partner have 4.5 hours of face-to-face therapy time. In a weekly format, that would cost you $717.50.
Additionally, the comprehensive relationship assessment is one we created here at Holding New Therapy. Licensing for this assessment tool would be about $44-50, plus the hours spent for your therapist to review your answers (2-3 hours!). This would cost about $510.
The values-based activity & the personalized postpartum plan & workbook are also resources we created. Licensing would be $88-100, & the time spent for your therapist to review your family values & personalize the postpartum plan to best fit you includes 4-5 hours, totaling $620-775.
If you’re adding this all up, we’re already at $1847.50-2002.50.
This is exactly why we bundled everything up & structured it as a program at a more accessible rate of $1349 with payment plans available.
Because protecting your relationship is priceless.