Maintaining a Strong Relationship Postpartum: The Importance of Couples Counseling
You have just introduced a new member into your family—congratulations! In all likelihood, you are experiencing a range of feelings, from joyful and tender to confused and exhausted, sometimes all at once. Things have changed dramatically, and you’re trying to adjust. You and your partner have eagerly worked together to reach this moment, and now your roles and responsibilities have shifted. The increased emotional and psychological load has become a challenge that sometimes makes it difficult for you to acknowledge each others’ perspectives and needs. This can lead to frustration and tension.
Don’t worry, this is typical of the postpartum period. You want to enjoy every moment with your newborn, but the pressures of quickly adapting to life as a parent while trying to maintain a healthy relationship with your partner can feel overwhelming. Which is why it’s so beneficial to address these potential relationship challenges preemptively. This can even mean before conception. And then maintain extra support throughout the postpartum phase. In this blog post, we will discuss the importance of couples counseling and how it can foster a healthier relationship once your baby is on the scene.
The Postpartum Period
The postpartum period is full of raw emotions, new logistical considerations, and even physical changes. New parents face a shifting landscape of sleep deprivation and increased stress levels. This requires you to adjust quickly to your new roles and responsibilities while managing heightened emotions. Unreasonable societal pressures lead many parents and birthing persons to approach this with unrealistic expectations for a super-smooth transition. Which can result in unhelpful self-criticism and/or criticism of your partner.
The truth is, it takes a lot of time and effort to make such a profound adjustment. And this transition is often made smoother when both parents receive outside support from a trained, experienced couples therapist. Online couples therapy for parents in Pasadena, CA, is an excellent resource for new parents trying to navigate the postpartum journey together. And it’s easily accessible from the safety and comfort of your home.
Challenges Faced by New Parents
Insufficient communication is one of the most common issues that creates difficulty for new parents. Healthy communication is an important component of any relationship, but new parents navigating the many adjustments of parenting an infant are especially in need of clear, compassionate dialogue. If communication is suffering, the relationship will become distressed, adding to the pressures of an already intense environment.
Each parent has taken on the role of caregiver and protector for their child while simultaneously trying to manage their own needs and the needs of their partner. These needs are often amplified by the changing post-baby dynamic. This is why it’s essential for couples to find an experienced therapist who can help them adjust to their new roles and work through communication challenges. Effective communication goes a long way toward alleviating stress levels and helping a parent/partner feel seen.
The Benefits of Online Couples Therapy in California for New Parents
Having resources to tap into throughout the postpartum period can be invaluable. You and your partner are facing the pressures of a capitalistic system that often works against you, societal expectations that don’t reflect reality, and, at times, a lack of meaningful support. This is where working with an experienced couples therapist for new parents comes in. In the safe therapy environment, the two of you have an opportunity to bolster the foundation of your parenting partnership in many ways.
develop healthy Communication strategies
Couples therapy for new parents is offered online so that you and your partner can access it in the comfort of your own home. Our experienced couples therapists are there to provide a warm and safe container for you both to share your thoughts, feelings, and expectations openly. Maintaining healthy, clear communication can be challenging amidst the increased stresses of early parenthood. A trained, experienced couples therapist can provide the guidance, balance, and support you need to foster a fruitful environment for compassionate communication.
Navigate Changes and Adjust Expectations
The introduction of a new family member is a joyous time, and it can also be incredibly overwhelming. A couples therapist can help parents navigate the shifts that are occurring and adjust expectations accordingly. Birthing persons and parents often enter parenthood with unrealistic expectations that can cause disappointment and conflict, so having an experienced practitioner help articulate the nature of your new roles and responsibilities can be very beneficial. A couples therapist can work with you to create schedules and a division of duties that make your co-parenting more cohesive.
Address Common Relationship Issues
Healthy relationships require regular maintenance. Online couples therapy in California for new parents can address common relationship issues before they become serious problems. It sets partners up for success in the long-term by addressing things such as co-parenting trouble spots, conflict resolution, and obstacles to intimacy.
As you continue to receive support, you’ll adjust and grow together as a couple. This translates to greater parenting presence, fewer resentments, and a feeling of positive collaboration in raising your child. All new parents struggle with a similar set of common issues, and you can address them in the care of an experienced couples therapist remotely from your own home.
Learn Effective Coping Strategies and Stress Management Techniques
The postpartum period can be a tumultuous time for new parents. That our culture and society often fail in providing substantive support to parents typically adds to what can sometimes feel like immense stress. Couples therapy for new parents offers a great way to learn effective coping strategies and stress management techniques to overcome the hurdles placed in your way by a capitalist system that devalues maternal/parental mental health.
Additionally, Whole Mother Therapy has BIPOC and queer couples therapists to support BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ parents. Our therapists recognize the uniquely complex intersectional realities that BIPOC and queer parents face in a white-dominant, heteronormative culture, and we’re here to support you in your specific lived experiences and identity shifts.
INTERESTED IN COUPLES THERAPY FOR PARENTS IN PASADENA, CA?
Doing maintenance on your relationship during the intense postpartum period helps strengthen its foundation for the years ahead. It encourages partners to enhance the safe, healthy, loving environment you’re creating not only for your baby but also for yourselves and for each other. As new parents, you deserve support and guidance in navigating the huge changes in your lives and relationship. At Whole Mother Therapy, our experienced couples therapists understand the importance of extra support during the postpartum period. We want to be a part of your village. To get started with online therapy and/or online postpartum support groups, simply follow the steps below.
Learn more about us and couples therapy for parents in Pasadena, CA.
Get the support you need from an online couples therapist.
OTHER SERVICES WHOLE MOTHER THERAPY OFFERS
Our Pasadena-based online therapy practice offers a variety of mental health services to support individuals, single parents, couples, and families. Our services include individual therapy for new parents, postpartum anxiety treatment, therapy for birth trauma, therapy for infant and pregnancy loss, therapy for infertility, postpartum depression support, marriage counseling and couples therapy for new parents, counseling for parental burnout and overwhelm, and online therapy in California for new and expecting parents.
We also offer an eight-week in-person Sacred Motherhood Circle to honor the transitions and transformations of motherhood. And we hold several support groups, including an online pregnancy support group and an online postpartum support group. Finally, you can read more about our services, values, and resources on our therapy blog.
As an inclusive practice with BIPOC and queer practitioners, we want you to know that this is a safe and affirming space. Our practice is LGBTQIA+-allied and welcomes diversity of race, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity. When you’re ready for support, we hold a healthy, inviting space for you to heal, grow, and develop with us.