Counselling support for individuals and couples working through changes in closeness, comfort, and communication during pregnancy. Delivered by regulated clinicians, including psychologists registered with the College of Alberta Psychologists. In-person at five Edmonton and St. Albert locations, and virtual across Alberta. 50-minute sessions, daytime, evening, and weekend availability. Individual or couples appointments.

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You Might Be Wondering Whether Pregnancy Intimacy Counselling Is Right for You

You may be questioning whether this is really something to book an appointment about. A lot of people decide it is not. They tell themselves the pregnancy is temporary, that the distance will sort itself out after the baby arrives, and that there are more pressing things to sort out first.

Some of this might sound familiar. Conversations about closeness that used to be simple now get postponed, or they start and then stall. One person reaches out, the other pulls back, and neither of you is entirely sure why it went that way. You may feel different about your body, and that changes what feels comfortable. Or the tiredness and the planning have taken up so much room that intimacy quietly dropped off the list without anyone deciding it should.

Pregnancy changes a great deal at once, and closeness often shifts along with everything else. Responses like these are common reactions to a demanding period. They do not mean something is wrong with you, and they do not mean something is wrong with your relationship.

The rest of this page describes what this kind of counselling involves, what it does not cover, and how to start if you decide it fits.

Who We Help

This service may be a good fit if you are:

• Pregnant, or partnered with someone who is pregnant, and noticing changes in closeness or comfort
• Finding it hard to talk with your partner about boundaries, timing, or what each of you wants right now
• Struggling with how you feel about your changing body, and how that affects connection
• Sensing a mismatch in expectations between you and your partner
• Looking ahead to parenthood and wondering what it will do to your relationship
• Working out how faith, culture, or family expectations shape what feels acceptable to you
• Gathering information for a partner, friend, or family member who is pregnant

This service may not be the right fit if:

• You need urgent help. Please use the crisis resources below rather than booking a routine appointment.
• Your question is medical. Pain, bleeding, infection concerns, or questions about what is physically safe during pregnancy belong with your physician, midwife, nurse practitioner, or obstetric provider.
• You need a psychological assessment or a report. Assessments are a separate service and are not part of this counselling service.
• You need documentation for a court, an insurer, or a legal proceeding. Counselling is not a legal or forensic service.

If You Need Help Right Now

Wholesome Psychology is not an emergency or crisis service. Booking an appointment online will not get you same-day help. If you are in danger or you cannot keep yourself safe, please use one of these instead:

• 911 or your nearest emergency department, if there is immediate danger
• Alberta Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642, available 24 hours a day
• Family Violence Info Line (Alberta): 310-1818, available 24 hours a day, toll-free
• Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741

What This Service Is

Pregnancy intimacy counselling is talking-based support. It gives you a private place to work through communication, expectations, boundaries, body changes, and emotional connection during pregnancy. Sessions are led by what matters to you, and the pace is set by you rather than by your therapist.

Some people attend on their own. Others come with a partner. Both are common, and one is not more valid than the other.

It is worth being clear about what this service is not. It is not prenatal medical care, and it does not replace it. It is not a crisis or emergency service, and it is not a legal or investigative process.

It is also not a psychological assessment. Nothing on this page should be read as suggesting that assessment is included here. Assessment is a separate service with its own process.

Your therapist works within their scope of practice. If something you raise looks more medical than psychological, they will say so and encourage you to bring it to your prenatal provider rather than trying to answer it themselves. What you share stays confidential within legal and ethical limits, which are set out in more detail further down this page.

Signs Pregnancy May Be Affecting Intimacy and Closeness

You do not need a diagnosis to benefit from this kind of support, and nothing here is a checklist to score yourself against. These are patterns people bring to sessions:

• Interest in physical closeness has changed for one or both of you, and neither of you knows how to raise it
• Affection feels loaded now, as though any gesture might be taken as a request for something more
• You feel self-conscious about your body in a way you did not before
• Conversations about intimacy end in frustration, or get avoided entirely
• You are tired in a way that leaves very little energy for connection at the end of the day
• One of you feels rejected, the other feels pressured, and both feel unheard
• Worry about the pregnancy or the birth keeps intruding on moments that used to feel easy
• You are not sure whether what you are noticing is emotional, relational, or something to ask a doctor about

Experiences like these are common during pregnancy, and they are not permanent features of who you are or how your relationship works. Structured conversation with someone outside the situation can make them easier to sort through.

How Treatment Works Here

• Find your therapist. You can use the Match with a Therapist tool, browse Our Therapists for individual profiles, or call the admin team at 780-904-4880 and talk it through with a person.
• Book your first session. The first appointment covers consent, confidentiality and its limits, and what you would like to work on. You set how much detail you go into. Nothing has to be decided in that first hour.
• Build your plan together. You and your therapist agree on what to focus on. If you attend as a couple, both of you have a say in what the work covers.
• Ongoing sessions. Sessions run 50 minutes, usually weekly or every second week. That can be adjusted as things change.
• Progress check-ins. Your therapist reviews with you whether the work is doing what you hoped. Plans change when your needs change.

There is no fixed number of sessions. Some people come for a short stretch to work through one specific conversation. Others stay longer, particularly if they want to keep working through the transition into parenthood. You can read more about the process on the Getting Started with Therapy page.

Evidence and Approaches

Research specific to counselling for intimacy during pregnancy is limited. The sources reviewed for this page support the topic as a reasonable focus for non-medical support, but they do not establish how well any particular approach works, and they do not support ranking one method above another. The approaches below are described with that limit stated openly rather than hidden.

Couples Counselling Focused on Communication and Expectations

What it helps with: Difficulty raising or resolving conversations about closeness, timing, boundaries, and differing expectations during pregnancy.

Evidence summary: Public health guidance for pregnancy in Canada frames this period as one of substantial physical and emotional change requiring practical support and accurate information (Public Health Agency of Canada [PHAC], 2025). The source set assembled for this page supports counselling as a private setting for working through communication and expectations, but it does not report outcome data for couples counselling in pregnancy specifically.

Limitations: No effectiveness estimates are available in the reviewed sources, so no expectation of benefit should be drawn from this description. Couples work depends on both partners being willing to attend and speak openly.

Individual Counselling for Adjustment, Body Image, and Comfort

What it helps with: Self-consciousness about a changing body, private worry, and the sense that your own reactions have become hard to explain to a partner.

Evidence summary: Professional guidance from Canadian psychology describes worry and heightened anxiety as very common among expectant parents, and treats this as an ordinary feature of the perinatal period rather than a defect (Canadian Psychological Association [CPA], 2025). That guidance supports acknowledging emotional strain and adjustment during pregnancy. It is not specific to intimacy, so it should not be read as evidence about intimacy concerns.

Limitations: The available material addresses perinatal anxiety broadly rather than intimacy, and individual responses vary considerably.

Non-Pharmacologic Approaches to Sexual Concerns in Pregnancy

What it helps with: Concerns about desire, comfort, or sexual connection that a person would rather address through conversation and non-medication approaches.

Evidence summary: A systematic review and meta-analysis has examined non-pharmacologic approaches to sexual concerns arising in pregnancy, which indicates this is an established area of clinical research rather than a fringe topic (de Aquino et al., 2025). The material available for this page does not report effect sizes or comparisons between approaches, so no claim is made here about how well any of them work.

Limitations: Without usable results from the reviewed material, this approach is presented as relevant and researched, not as demonstrated to help. Counselling is not medical treatment for physical symptoms.

Counselling Coordinated With Prenatal Care

What it helps with: Situations where it is genuinely unclear whether a concern is emotional, relational, or medical.

Evidence summary: Antenatal care guidance sets out that pregnancy-related clinical questions belong with the maternity and prenatal care team (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence [NICE], 2021). Canadian pregnancy guidance takes the same position and directs people to their prenatal provider for questions about their own health during pregnancy (PHAC, 2025). Counselling is positioned alongside that care, not in place of it.

Limitations: Neither source is a psychotherapy outcome source, and neither speaks to counselling effectiveness. Your therapist cannot answer medical questions or give medical clearance.

What Results to Expect

Progress in therapy is rarely a straight line. Some weeks feel useful and some feel like nothing moved. That is ordinary, and it is worth saying out loud to your therapist when it happens.

Some people notice shifts within a few weeks, particularly when the goal is a specific conversation they have been unable to have. Others find that longer work suits them better, especially when the pregnancy sits alongside other pressures. What happens depends on several things: what you are working through, what else is going on in your life right now, whether both partners are engaged if you attend as a couple, and how well you and your therapist work together.

No therapy guarantees an outcome, and no clinician here will promise you one. The sources reviewed for this page do not support predictions about how you will feel afterwards, so this page does not make any.

Therapeutic fit matters more than most people expect. If the fit is not right, changing therapist or changing approach is always available to you, and asking for that is a normal part of the process rather than a setback.

Confidentiality and Privacy

What you say in session is confidential. Your therapist does not share it with your partner, your family, your employer, or your prenatal care team without your consent.

Psychologists at Wholesome Psychology are registered with the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP) and practise under the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists. Alberta privacy law governs how your personal and health information is collected, used, stored, and disclosed. The two acts that apply most often in this setting are the Health Information Act (HIA) and the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). Which one applies in a given case depends on the nature of the organization holding the record and the type of information involved.

There are limits to confidentiality, and they are set by law rather than by clinic preference:

• Risk of serious harm to you or to another person
• Suspected abuse or neglect of a child, which carries a mandatory duty to report under Alberta law
• A court order or other legal requirement to disclose

Your therapist will explain these limits clearly in the first session, before you share anything personal. You are welcome to ask questions about how your information is handled at any point, including before you book.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to describe our sex life in detail?

No. You decide what to say and how much. Many people find that the useful work happens around present-day patterns, such as how a conversation goes wrong or what happens when one of you withdraws, rather than in detailed accounts of specific moments. If your therapist asks something you would rather not answer, saying so is a legitimate answer and your therapist will move on.

Is what I share kept private?

Yes, within legal and ethical limits. Your therapist will not share what you say without your consent, except where there is risk of serious harm, suspected abuse or neglect of a child, or a legal requirement such as a court order. Those limits are explained in full in the confidentiality section above, and your therapist will go through them with you in the first session.

How many sessions will I need?

There is no set number. Some people come for a short stretch focused on one specific issue and find that sufficient. Others continue for longer, particularly when they want support through the birth and the months after it. Your therapist reviews progress with you regularly, and you can stop, pause, or change direction at any point.

What if the therapist is not the right fit?

Fit matters, and it is not a failure on anyone's part when it is not there. Tell the admin team at 780-904-4880 and they will help you move to a different clinician. You can also use the Match with a Therapist tool to compare options. New clients may access their first session at 50% off to help find the right therapeutic fit.

Can I access therapy online?

Yes. Virtual sessions are available across Alberta and are often easier during pregnancy, particularly late in the third trimester or when travel is uncomfortable. The same confidentiality standards apply to virtual sessions as to in-person ones. You will need a private space and a reliable connection.

Can I come on my own if my partner does not want to attend?

Yes. Individual sessions are a common starting point, and some people never move to couples work at all. Attending alone can help you get clearer on what you want before raising it at home. It is also a reasonable option if you are single, if your partner is unavailable, or if you would simply rather work through it privately first.

What if I am not safe at home?

If you are in immediate danger, call 911. For confidential information and support at any hour, the Family Violence Info Line is 310-1818, toll-free across Alberta. Counselling can be part of longer-term support, but it is not a substitute for safety planning, and a routine appointment is not the right route when the risk is immediate. If you are not sure how to describe your situation, the Info Line can talk it through with you without requiring you to name anything you are not ready to name.

Is this the same as medical advice about sex during pregnancy?

No. This is counselling, and your therapist cannot tell you what is physically safe. Questions about pain, bleeding, contractions, infection risk, restrictions after a complication, or whether any activity is medically appropriate need to go to your physician, midwife, nurse practitioner, or obstetric provider. Your therapist can help you work out how to raise those questions with that provider if that part feels awkward.

Meet Your Clinicians

Care at Wholesome Psychology is delivered by Registered Psychologists, Registered Provisional Psychologists, Registered Social Workers, Certified Canadian Counsellors, Mental Health Therapists, and Student Therapists. Each works within the scope of practice their credential allows.

All psychologists are registered with the College of Alberta Psychologists. Registered Provisional Psychologists practise under the supervision of a senior registered psychologist. Registered Social Workers are regulated by the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW). Certified Canadian Counsellors (CCCs) are certified by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA). Many clinicians have training in perinatal and pregnancy-related concerns, couples and relationship counselling, and intimacy and sexuality work.

You can read individual profiles on the Our Therapists page, or use the Match with a Therapist tool if comparing profiles feels like too much. The admin team at 780-904-4880 can also point you toward someone suitable. You may find the Our Unique Approach page useful if you want a sense of how the clinic works before contacting anyone.

Children and Youth

Pregnancy changes a household, and older children often notice tension between their parents before anyone has explained it to them. Wholesome Psychology offers counselling for children, adolescents, and young people alongside adult services.

Therapists working with younger clients use approaches suited to the child's age and stage rather than adapting adult methods downward. They also work with caregivers, since a child's environment matters as much as their sessions. If a growing family is under strain during pregnancy, support can be arranged for the adults, the children, or both.

Take the Next Step

If this page describes something close to your situation, here is how to start:

• Book a session online through the booking system
• Match with a therapist if you would like help narrowing the options
• Call 780-904-4880 to speak with the admin team
• Email info@wholesomepsychology.ca with any questions
• Read Getting Started with Therapy for a walkthrough of the process

You may also want to look at related services, including Mental Health During Pregnancy, Couples Counselling, Parenthood Transition, Relationships After Birth, and Faith and Culture in Pregnancy.

New clients may access their first session at 50% off to help find the right therapeutic fit.

Starting the conversation is enough.

References

• Canadian Psychological Association. (2017). Canadian code of ethics for psychologists (4th ed.). https://cpa.ca/
• Canadian Psychological Association. (2025). Psychology works fact sheet: Perinatal anxiety. https://cpa.ca/psychologyfactsheets
• College of Alberta Psychologists. (2023). Standards of practice. https://www.cap.ab.ca/
• College of Alberta Psychologists. (2026). Interpretive guide: Privacy legislation in Alberta. https://www.cap.ab.ca/
• de Aquino, A. C. Q., Sarmento, A. C. A., Simões, A. C. Z., de Medeiros, H. D., de Siqueira, B. B., Nascimento, T. B., de Freitas, C. L., Falsetta, M. L., & Gonçalves, A. K. (2025). Non-pharmacologic therapies for treating sexual dysfunction during pregnancy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, 172(3), 1317. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.70451
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2021). Antenatal care (NICE Guideline NG201). https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng201
• Public Health Agency of Canada. (2025). Your guide to a healthy pregnancy. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/health-promotion/healthy-pregnancy/healthy-pregnancy-guide.html