Couples & Relationship Therapy in Palm Desert, California
Therapy for couples navigating stress, disconnection, and family life transitions.
A Safe Space for Couples Navigating Parenthood
Becoming parents changes everything: your routines, your identity, your bandwidth, and your relationship.
Even strong partnerships can feel stretched thin during pregnancy, postpartum, early parenting, or fertility treatment. Sleep deprivation, uneven mental load, resentment, and disconnection can build quietly, often without either partner meaning for things to get this hard.
At Haven Wellness Therapy, I offer couples therapy in Palm Desert for partners navigating the emotional shifts of family life. Therapy is a place to slow things down, make sense of what this season is asking of you, and reconnect, individually and together, in ways that actually feel supportive and grounded.
Common Reasons Couples Reach Out for Therapy
Uneven mental load and growing resentment
Feeling disconnected or more like roommates than partners
Conversations that turn into conflict instead of clarity
Identity shifts after becoming parents
Old patterns or emotional injuries resurfacing under stress
Rebuilding emotional or physical intimacy
Co-parenting differences and hard decisions
Supporting each other through fertility treatment, pregnancy, or postpartum
This isn’t about blame. It’s about finding your way back to teamwork, softness, and safety in your relationship.
If you’re also navigating this season individually, you may want to explore Pregnancy & Postpartum Therapy as well.
A Space to Be Honest (Really Honest)
Couples therapy offers a structured, supportive place to talk about what’s been building beneath the surface, especially during high-stress parenting seasons.
Parenthood has a way of amplifying old wounds, exposing unmet needs, and making small issues feel enormous. That doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong. It means you’re human, and this season is demanding.
In therapy, you’ll each have space to:
Say the things you’ve been holding in
Feel your emotions without having to justify or defend them
Be heard in ways that create understanding, not escalation
Learn communication that works now, not just in theory
Understand each other’s overwhelm, triggers, and needs
Rebuild connection from compassion rather than urgency
This is a space to exhale, reset, and reconnect, without pretending everything is fine.
How Couples Therapy Supports Growing Families
When you’re navigating pregnancy, postpartum, early parenthood, or the ongoing demands of family life, your relationship often carries more stress than anyone realizes.
Couples therapy helps slow things down so small moments don’t keep turning into big blowups — and so you can feel more supported, less reactive, and more connected to each other through this season.
In therapy, couples often work on:
Reducing conflict and communicating more clearly
Rebuilding emotional closeness and trust
Understanding each other’s stress responses and coping styles
Reconnecting after fertility treatment or postpartum transitions
Creating a shared vision for family life
Feeling like you’re on the same team again
You don’t have to figure this out alone.
Your relationship deserves care, too.
If fertility treatment or IVF is part of your story, you may also find Fertility & Loss Therapy helpful in supporting both the emotional and relational impact of family building.
I offer couples therapy in Palm Desert, with virtual sessions available across California.
You can find practical details about fees, insurance, and what to expect on my Fees & FAQs page.
I’m real, I’m human — and yes, sometimes there’s swearing in sessions.
When you’re ready, we can start rebuilding this together.
Get to Know Your Therapist
Because who you’re becoming as partners matters just as much as who you’re becoming as parents.
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Hi, I’m Sophie Bain-Tohl (she/her) — Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, partner, parent, and someone who understands how deeply parenthood and family building can reshape a relationship.
Becoming parents doesn’t just add stress, it changes how you communicate, how you argue, how you repair, and how much capacity you each have. Many of the couples I work with love each other deeply and still feel disconnected, resentful, or stuck in patterns they don’t recognize anymore. I’ve seen this both professionally and personally, and I know how disorienting it can feel when your relationship starts carrying more weight than it used to.
My work with couples is grounded, relational, and honest. I specialize in supporting partners navigating pregnancy, postpartum, fertility journeys, and the ongoing emotional load of parenting, helping couples slow things down, understand what’s happening beneath the surface, and find their way back to each other with more clarity and care.
You don’t have to perform or have it all figured out here. This is a space for real conversations and real connection.
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In our work together, you can expect:
A supportive, structured space where both partners are heard
Help slowing down reactive cycles and recurring conflict
Support for the emotional strain that comes with parenting, fertility treatment, and life transitions
A therapist who understands mental load, burnout, and how stress shows up in relationships
Tools that help you communicate more clearly and respond with more intention
A balance of warmth, directness, and real-world practicality
My approach is collaborative and grounded. I’ll meet you with validation and curiosity, while also helping you gently name patterns that may be keeping you stuck. Therapy isn’t about assigning blame or deciding who’s “right.” It’s about understanding what’s happening between you and learning how to move through it together with more steadiness and respect.
This work can be tender, sometimes uncomfortable, and often relieving. We go at a pace that feels supportive, with the goal of helping your relationship feel like a safer, more connected place to land, even in hard seasons.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Frequently Asked Questions *
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Couples therapy can be helpful anytime your relationship feels strained, disconnected, or harder than it used to, not just when things feel like they’re falling apart. Many couples reach out during pregnancy, postpartum, fertility treatment, or early parenting because the stress of this season has changed how they communicate and connect. You don’t need to be in crisis to seek support.
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Yes. Pregnancy, postpartum, and parenting can significantly impact even strong relationships. Sleep deprivation, shifting roles, uneven mental load, and emotional overwhelm often show up in ways couples don’t expect. Couples therapy offers a space to slow things down, understand what’s happening beneath the surface, and find steadier ways to support each other during these transitions.
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That’s very common. It’s okay if you’re not both equally ready or sure at the beginning. Couples therapy isn’t about taking sides or forcing agreement; it’s about creating space for both partners to feel heard and understood. We’ll move at a pace that feels respectful and supportive for both of you.
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Sessions are collaborative and focused on helping you understand your patterns, communication, and emotional responses to stress. There’s space for honesty, real conversation, and learning new ways to respond to each other that fit this season of life. Therapy isn’t about blame, it’s about repair, clarity, and rebuilding connection in a way that feels sustainable.