A private, collaborative space to sort through the hopes, questions, and decisions that can come with planning a pregnancy. Psychologists registered with the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP). Registered Psychologists, Registered Provisional Psychologists, Registered Social Workers regulated by the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW), Canadian Certified Counsellors certified by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA), Mental Health Therapists, and Student Therapists. In person in Edmonton and St. Albert, and virtual across Alberta.

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

You may be unsure whether it makes sense to see a counsellor about a pregnancy that has not happened yet. Nothing is wrong, exactly. You might not be trying to conceive, or you might have only just started. Asking for support at this stage can feel like getting ahead of yourself.

Or the doubt might be quieter. You expected to feel excited, and instead you feel a mix of things that is hard to explain. Maybe you lie awake doing the math on money, parental leave, and timing.

Maybe every conversation with your partner about kids ends in the same place. Maybe a past loss, or something from your own childhood, keeps coming to mind more than you expected.

These reactions make sense. Planning a pregnancy can touch your relationship, your body, your work, your finances, and your sense of who you are, all at the same time. Mixed feelings are a common response to a decision this large. They are not a verdict on whether you should become a parent.

If you are curious about what this kind of counselling involves, the sections below explain what it is, what it is not, and how to get started.

Who We Help

Preparing for pregnancy counselling may be a good fit if you are:

• thinking about whether, when, or how to pursue pregnancy, on your own or with a partner
• starting to try to conceive and wanting space for the feelings that come with it
• working through different hopes or timelines with a partner
• carrying experiences that feel relevant now, such as a previous pregnancy loss, fertility worries, or a complicated relationship with your own parents
• sorting through family, cultural, or faith expectations about having children (our page on faith and culture in pregnancy covers this in more depth)
• a single person or part of a same-sex couple planning a family (see support for single parents and same-sex relationships)

This service may not be the right fit if:

• You are in crisis or in immediate danger. Please use the crisis resources below.
• You need medical, fertility, genetic, or prenatal care or advice. Those questions belong with a physician, nurse practitioner, midwife, pharmacist, or fertility clinic.
• You need a psychological assessment or a report for a legal or court matter. These needs are outside this counselling service. Psychological assessments are a separate service.

If you are reading this for a partner, friend, or family member, you can share this page with them. Our administrative team can also answer general questions about how counselling works at 780-904-4880.

Crisis Guidance

Counselling is not crisis care. If you or someone else is in danger, or you need help right now, these services are available:

• 911, or go to your nearest emergency department, if there is immediate danger
• Alberta Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642 (24/7)
• Family Violence Info Line (Alberta): 310-1818 (24/7, toll-free), if you are being hurt, threatened, or controlled by a partner or family member
• Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741

Wholesome Psychology is not an emergency or crisis service.

What This Service Is

Preparing for pregnancy counselling is psychological support for the emotional, relational, and practical sides of planning a pregnancy. Sessions can make room for hopes, uncertainty, expectations, relationship conversations, and the changes you are anticipating. Some people come with one decision to think through. Others want a steady place to talk while plans take shape.

It helps to be clear about what this service is not:

• It is not medical preconception care. It does not include fertility testing, genetic counselling, medication advice, prenatal assessment, or obstetrical care.
• It does not replace advice from your physician, midwife, nurse practitioner, pharmacist, or fertility clinic. Counselling can sit alongside that care.
• It does not include psychological assessments, which are offered as a separate service.
• It is not a legal service, an investigative process, or crisis intervention.
• It does not promise pregnancy, conception, or any particular result.

You set the pace, and your therapist will not push you to talk about anything before you are ready. Each therapist works within their own training and professional scope. If a question falls outside that scope, such as a medical concern, they may suggest a more appropriate professional.

What you share is kept confidential within limits set by law and professional standards. Your therapist explains those limits at your first session, and the confidentiality section below has more detail.

Signs Preparing for Pregnancy May Be Affecting You

Planning a pregnancy is not always hard. When it does weigh on you, it can show up in everyday ways like these:

• running through money, work, leave, or housing questions late at night
• feeling excited and hesitant at the same time, sometimes within the same hour
• having the same conversation with your partner about timing and ending up stuck
• tensing up when family or friends ask when you are having a baby
• noticing an old loss, a hard childhood, or past fertility worries resurfacing
• wondering how pregnancy and parenthood might change your body, your identity, or your career
• pulling back from friends who are pregnant or have young children
• feeling that you should be more certain than you are
• wanting to think through how your own mental health history fits into your plans (questions about medication belong with your physician or pharmacist)

These are common reactions to a major life decision. They do not mean something is wrong with you, and they do not mean you are unsuited to parenthood. Counselling can offer a structured place to sort through them at a pace that works for you.

How Counselling Works Here

• Find your therapist. Use the Match with a Therapist tool or browse Our Therapists to read clinician profiles. If you would like help choosing, our administrative team can talk it through with you at 780-904-4880.
• Book your first session. You can book online through our booking system or by phone. The first session covers consent, confidentiality and its limits, and what you would like to focus on. You can ask questions before sharing anything personal.
• Build your plan together. You and your therapist create a plan shaped around your goals. Depending on what you want, it might include reflection, communication support, coping strategies, values-based decision-making, or planning for upcoming changes.
• Ongoing sessions. Sessions are 50 minutes, usually weekly or every two weeks. You can adjust how often you meet as your needs and schedule change. A partner can join some or all sessions if that fits your goals.
• Progress check-ins. Your therapist reviews with you how things are going, and the plan can change as your situation does. If you become pregnant, our Pregnancy Support and Perinatal Mental Health pages describe support during pregnancy and after birth.

There is no fixed number of sessions. Counselling is collaborative, and your voice shapes each stage. Our Getting Started with Therapy page explains the process in more detail.

Evidence and Approaches

This page is careful about research claims. The sources reviewed for it recognize preconception counselling as a reason people seek health services. They do not measure how psychological counselling affects people who are preparing for pregnancy, and the descriptions below reflect that. Your therapist can explain which approaches they draw on and why.

Preconception Counselling

What it helps with: Preconception counselling sets aside dedicated time to talk through questions and plans before a pregnancy begins.

Evidence summary: ICD-11, the international classification system maintained by the World Health Organization, lists preconception counselling as a recognized reason for contact with health services (World Health Organization [WHO], n.d.). Canadian public health guidance also includes a chapter devoted to preconception care (Government of Canada, n.d.).

Limitations: These sources show that preconception counselling is a recognized area of care. They do not evaluate psychotherapy or predict any pregnancy or mental health outcome.

Individual Counselling Before Pregnancy

What it helps with: Individual sessions offer room to explore your own hopes, doubts, past experiences, and priorities without needing a decision already made.

Evidence summary: Seeking counselling before pregnancy is a recognized reason for contact with health services (WHO, n.d.). However, no research evaluating individual psychological counselling specifically for people preparing for pregnancy is cited on this page.

Limitations: Because outcome research is not cited here, this page makes no claim about how much individual counselling may help. Experiences vary from person to person.

Counselling With a Partner

What it helps with: Joint sessions give partners a structured place to talk about timing, roles, finances, intimacy, family boundaries, and support after a baby arrives.

Evidence summary: The sources reviewed for this page do not evaluate couples counselling for people preparing for pregnancy, so no effectiveness claim is made here. If relationship concerns are central, our Couples Counselling and Relationships and Intimacy While Trying to Conceive pages describe related services.

Limitations: Joint sessions depend on both partners choosing to take part. They may not be the right format if you feel unsafe with your partner, and individual sessions or the Family Violence Info Line may be a better place to start.

What Results to Expect

Counselling before pregnancy rarely moves in a straight line. You might feel clear one week and unsettled the next, especially if plans change or something unexpected happens. That back and forth is a normal part of thinking through a decision this personal.

How long people stay in counselling varies. Some come with one focused question, such as a decision about timing. Others prefer ongoing support through months of planning, trying to conceive, or early pregnancy. What you get from counselling can depend on:

• what brought you in and what you hope to focus on
• what else is going on in your life, such as work, health, or family stress
• how well you and your therapist work together

No form of counselling can guarantee an outcome, and this service cannot influence whether or when a pregnancy happens. Fit with your therapist matters. If the match does not feel right, you can change therapists or ask about a different approach at any time.

Confidentiality and Privacy

What you share in counselling is confidential, within limits set by law and professional standards. Psychologists at Wholesome Psychology are regulated by the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP) and follow the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists published by the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA). Registered Social Workers are regulated by the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW).

Two Alberta privacy laws are relevant to counselling:

• Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA): sets rules for how private organizations in Alberta collect, use, disclose, and keep personal information. PIPA generally applies to private clinics like ours.
• Health Information Act (HIA): sets rules for health information held by custodians such as Alberta Health Services, hospitals, and physicians. If you agree to have your therapist share information with your physician or another custodian, the HIA governs how they handle it.

There are a few situations where a therapist may be required or permitted to share information without your consent:

• if there is a risk of serious harm to you or to someone else
• if there is reason to believe a child is being abused or neglected, which must be reported under Alberta law
• if a court orders the release of records

Your therapist will explain these limits clearly at your first session. You are welcome to ask questions about privacy before you share anything personal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to talk about past experiences, like a pregnancy loss or a difficult childhood, in detail?

No. You decide what to share and when. You can start with what is happening now, such as a stuck conversation or a decision about timing, and bring in the past only if it feels useful. Your therapist can work with present-day patterns without asking you to go through painful memories step by step. If a previous loss is a main focus, our Perinatal Loss page describes related support.

Is what I share kept private?

Yes, within legal and ethical limits. Your therapist will not share information without your consent except in specific situations, such as a risk of serious harm, suspected abuse or neglect of a child, or a court order. Alberta privacy law, including PIPA, also applies. The Confidentiality and Privacy section above explains this in more detail, and your therapist will go over it at your first session.

How many sessions will I need?

There is no set number. It depends on what you want to focus on and how things change along the way. Some people come with one specific question, while others want ongoing support as plans take shape. You and your therapist will review progress together and adjust the plan as needed.

What if the therapist is not the right fit?

Fit matters, and wanting a different match is a reasonable request. You can tell your therapist directly, or contact our administrative team at 780-904-4880 and they can help you find another clinician. New clients may access their first session at 50% off to help find the right therapeutic fit.

Can I have sessions online?

Yes. Virtual sessions are available anywhere in Alberta, and the same confidentiality standards apply as in person. A private spot where you will not be overheard can make sessions easier. Availability varies by clinician, so mention your preference when you book.

Do I need to be trying to conceive to book?

No. Some people come while they are still deciding whether, when, or how to pursue pregnancy or parenthood. Others are already trying or going through fertility treatment. Our Planning Parenthood, Fertility Struggles, and Mental Health and Fertility pages describe related support.

Can my partner come to sessions?

Yes, if that fits your goals. Some people attend on their own, some come with a partner, and some do a mix of both. You can decide with your therapist which format makes sense for what you want to talk about.

Can counselling answer medical or fertility questions?

No. Counselling can make space for the emotional and relational side of medical or fertility questions, but it does not replace medical care. Questions about medications, conception, genetic risk, or prenatal health belong with a physician, nurse practitioner, midwife, pharmacist, or fertility clinic. Your therapist may encourage you to speak with one of them.

Meet Your Clinicians

Our team includes Registered Psychologists, Registered Provisional Psychologists, Registered Social Workers, Canadian Certified Counsellors, Mental Health Therapists, and Student Therapists. All psychologists are registered with the College of Alberta Psychologists. Registered Provisional Psychologists practise under the supervision of a senior registered psychologist. Student Therapists are master's-level practicum students.

The clinic offers a range of reproductive and perinatal services, and clinicians describe their training and areas of focus on their profiles. You can browse Our Therapists to look for experience with pregnancy planning, fertility, or relationships, or use the Match with a Therapist tool. If you would rather talk it through, call our administrative team at 780-904-4880.

Children and Youth

If you already have children, preparing for another pregnancy can affect the whole family. Wholesome Psychology offers counselling for children, adolescents, and young people. Therapists who work with younger clients use age-appropriate approaches and work with caregivers to support the child at home. Our child and youth counselling page has more information.

Talking It Through

If you would like to explore preparing for pregnancy counselling, you can:

• Book a session online
• Use Match with a Therapist to find a clinician who suits you
• Call our administrative team at 780-904-4880
• Email info@wholesomepsychology.ca
• Read Getting Started with Therapy to learn what to expect

Starting the conversation is enough.

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

References

• Government of Canada. (n.d.). Chapter 2: Preconception care.
• World Health Organization. (n.d.). ICD-11 for mortality and morbidity statistics (QA33: Contact with health services for preconception counselling).