Most expecting parents spend months preparing for labour, feeding, and sleep. Far fewer prepare for how a new baby will change their relationship, even though research shows the first years of parenthood are among the most challenging times for couples.

Us, Plus One is a six-session program for expecting couples, designed to be completed during pregnancy. Working privately with Jess Preston, Registered Clinical Counsellor and founder of Reverie Therapy, who has specialized training in perinatal mental health and couples therapy, you'll talk through the conversations that are hardest to have once the baby arrives, and leave with a written plan built around your family.

You'll finish with a personalized First Year Together plan and built-in check-in points to revisit it as your family grows.

You'll also go into parenthood with the peace of mind that comes from having done this work together. And if the first year brings additional challenges, as it does for many families, you'll already have a counsellor who knows you, your relationship, and your plan. Reaching out for support means calling someone familiar, rather than starting over with a stranger.

Sessions are 80 minutes and available in person or virtually.

What We’ll Cover.

Us, Plus One is informed by research from the Gottman Institute and Emotionally Focused Therapy, and by specialized training in perinatal mental health. Each session builds one part of your First Year Together plan, so by the end of the program you'll have a complete, personalized plan in your own words.

Session 1: Getting to Know Us, Again Reconnect with who you both are right now, explore how your own childhoods shape the parents you want to be, and name your hopes and fears for the year ahead.

Session 2: Mental Health for Both of Us Learn the signs of postpartum mood and anxiety concerns in both partners, and create a plan for how you'll support each other and when to reach out for help.

Session 3: Sharing the Load Build a realistic plan for sharing night feeds, household tasks, and the mental load, and learn how to adjust it as your needs change.

Session 4: Conflict When We're Exhausted Understand your conflict patterns before sleep deprivation sets in, and practice gentle, practical ways to raise concerns, repair after hard moments, and find your way back to each other.

Session 5: Staying Connected Create small, realistic rituals for staying close, talk openly about intimacy after baby, and explore how becoming parents changes each of you.

Session 6: Our Village and Our Plan Plan your support network and boundaries, define the family culture you want to build, and leave with your completed First Year Together plan.

What You'll Receive

Alongside your sessions, you'll take home practical resources to keep using long after the program ends:

• Session worksheets and handouts to guide your conversations and revisit when you need a refresher

• Between-session exercises, short and practical activities to try at home that help you put new skills into practice together

• Your completed First Year Together plan, a written record of the agreements, strategies, and support network you've built together

Investment

Us, Plus One includes six 80-minute sessions at Jess’ regular rate of $272 per session. All six sessions are booked in advance to hold your spots, and payment is taken after each session. You're welcome to stop at any time, and standard cancellation policies apply to individual appointments.

Postpartum check-in sessions (50 minutes, $170) are available any time after your baby arrives. You can book them in advance as part of your plan to prioritize your relationship, or schedule them as needed, giving you space to check in and reconnect as your family settles in.

Why I Created Us, Plus One

In my work with couples, I see the same story again and again. Two people who love each other bring home a baby, and somewhere in the blur of sleepless nights, shifting roles, and endless to-do lists, they start to lose each other. By the time they reach my office, months or even years later, small misunderstandings have hardened into painful patterns.

Most couples go into parenthood assuming they'll figure it out as they go. It makes sense. There's so much to prepare for, and the relationship often feels like the one thing that will take care of itself. But research tells a different story: about two-thirds of couples experience a significant drop in relationship satisfaction in the first few years after having a baby.

I kept wondering what would happen if couples had these conversations before the baby arrived, while they still had the time, energy, and sleep to really hear each other. What if they knew what their conflict looked like under stress before they were living it at 3am? What if they had already agreed on how to share the load, how to spot the signs that one of them is struggling, and how to find their way back to each other?

That's what Us, Plus One is for. You prepare for birth. You prepare for feeding and sleep. This is how you prepare for the two of you.

Jess Preston, RCC, Founder, Reverie Therapy