You don't have to be pregnant to need support
50-minute session with a pre-conception therapist. £120 for 1:1, couples for £160. Ongoing sessions from £83/session.
Does the thought of having (more) children raise complex emotions?
Having children is life-changing. We offer specialist therapy for fear of pregnancy, ambivalence about having (more) children, and the feelings that arrive before parenthood begins — for individuals and couples.
If you’re wrestling with any of the below, we’re here to help.
Fear of being pregnant
The idea of being pregnant fills you with dread. It might be a visceral physical response, intrusive thoughts, or a fear so intense it's affecting your relationship or your ability to plan your future. You may want children, but this feels like a wall you can't climb over.
Ambivalence about having children
You're genuinely unsure whether you want children — and the pressure to decide, from inside and outside, is becoming overwhelming. You'd like to explore this with someone skilled in holding that question, without being pushed either way.
A couple on different pages
You and your partner's feelings about having children have diverged — whether that's one person's feelings changing, or one of you living with fear that's making shared planning impossible. You want to navigate it together, with care and without pressure.
OCD or intrusive thoughts
Your existing OCD, anxiety, or intrusive thoughts intensify around pregnancy and parenthood. The cycle of thoughts — about harm, about being able to cope, about what it means — feels relentless and isolating. You're looking for a specialist who can support you through this.
Past experiences affecting your present
A termination, a miscarriage, a traumatic birth experience you witnessed or went through — something has made pregnancy feel impossibly loaded, and you haven't had the right support to process it. You don't need to keep carrying this alone.
Preparing emotionally before trying to conceive
You want children and you're getting ready — but you want to feel emotionally equipped before you begin. Perhaps you have health conditions that make pregnancy complex, or you simply want to arrive at this moment feeling as prepared as you can.
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Therapy here isn't about pushing you towards parenthood.
Whatever you decide, or don’t, is not our business. Our job is to help you get unstuck: from fear, from past experiences, from the weight of other people’s expectations, from patterns that are making this harder than it needs to be.
Our therapists are specialists in the perinatal period and modern parenthood — which means they understand the biological, emotional, and relational dimensions of what you’re weighing up.
And if you already have a child or children, but are struggling with whether to have any more – we apply the same knowledge and approach to support you with this too.
Questions? Book a free 15 minute consultation to speak to our team.
Pre-conception therapy can take many forms. Following your assessment, your therapist will suggest a tailored plan that might involve:
- Psychodynamic work to help you explore the roots of fear or ambivalence.
- CBT & OCD-specific approaches to help you manage intrusive thoughts and anxiety spirals.
- Trauma-informed therapy & EMDR to help you process past experiences that affect the present.
- Somatic work to restore a sense of safety in your body.
- Couples therapy to provide you with a structured, neutral space for navigating misaligned feelings together.
Questions? Book a free 15 minute consultation to speak to our team.
Parenthood is complex.
And that’s true even if you’re not pregnant, planning to conceive, or certain about wanting children. If you’re wrestling with fear, ambivalence, or complex feelings around the idea of pregnancy or parenthood – we’re here to support you too.
Book a clinical assessment session with us today and speak to a therapist in a matter of days.
Or if you’re not quite ready, get in touch with our team for a free 15 minute consultation.
FAQs
No. You don’t need to be pregnant, planning to get pregnant, or even sure that you want children. If you’re working through fear, ambivalence, or past experiences that relate to pregnancy or parenthood, our therapists are equipped to work with you. This is one of the most common questions we receive — and the answer is always yes, you’re welcome here.
Absolutely not. Our therapists are trained to hold this question with care and without agenda. Whether you ultimately have children, don’t, or remain uncertain — that’s yours to determine. The therapist’s role is to help you explore with clarity, not to advocate for a particular outcome.
Yes, and this is something our couples therapists are experienced in. Sessions provide a safe structure for conversations that can be very hard to have alone — particularly when one partner is afraid of coercion or the other is worried about overwhelming them. You don’t both need to be in agreement to start; you just need to be willing to try together.
Yes. Our therapists understand that OCD and intrusive thoughts take on particular intensity in the perinatal space — fears about harm, about coping, about what it would mean to bring a child into the world. They are trained in evidence-based approaches including CBT and ERP, with an understanding of how these intersect with the specific context of pregnancy and parenthood.
Yes. Experiences of termination — especially where they’ve been traumatic, repeated, or unacknowledged — can leave a lasting mark on your relationship with pregnancy and your body. Our therapists work with this thoughtfully, without judgement, and with awareness of how complex and layered these experiences can be.
We are able to match most clients with a therapist within 48 hours of booking, with no waitlist or GP referral required. For a free 15-minute consultation with our team, there are usually slots available within the week.