Perinatal Couples Therapy in Northern Virginia

You Weren't Expecting This Part to Be So Hard

I offer perinatal couples counseling in Northern Virginia for partners navigating infertility, pregnancy loss, postpartum adjustment, and other challenges in the transition to parenthood.

You and your partner were on the same page about starting or growing your family. You had dreams of what that journey might look like. But now, everything feels different. You're exhausted. Grieving. Stressed. Disconnected from each other in ways you never anticipated.

Maybe you're facing infertility or pregnancy loss. Maybe you're in the thick of postpartum recovery, navigating NICU visits, or struggling with the emotional and physical changes that follow birth. Maybe you're grieving the loss of the baby you hoped for. Or maybe the baby is here, but you both feel like you've lost yourselves—and each other—in the process.

Whatever brought you here, it's heavy. And it's happening while the rest of the world seems to be moving forward as if nothing happened. The clock keeps ticking, life keeps marching on, and you're stuck in a fog—trying to remember what normal even felt like. Everyone else seems to be living effortlessly while you're holding something invisible and weighty. You want to be okay. You want your relationship to feel the way it used to. But right now, that feels so far away.

When Life Throws More at You Than You Imagined

This isn't about whether your relationship is strong or not. It's about how even the most loving, committed couples can start to lose each other under the weight of prolonged stress, grief, and uncertainty. The perinatal period brings challenges that can quietly erode connection, especially when you're both doing your best just to get through the day and put one foot in front of the other.

Maybe you're dealing with recurrent pregnancy loss, infertility, or the heartbreak of unsuccessful treatments. A traumatic birth, NICU stay, or medical complications. Postpartum depression, anxiety, or hormonal shifts that are changing how you show up. Physical pain, exhaustion, or body image struggles that impact closeness and intimacy. Shame, guilt, or spiritual confusion about what you're going through. Different coping styles that make you feel like you're grieving alone, even when you're together.

It might feel like one of you is carrying all the weight. Or like both of you are trying, but keep missing each other. Maybe one of you is diving into work while the other is overwhelmed with emotion. Maybe neither of you feels like there's space to share your grief, fears, or even your anger—with each other, or with anyone else.

Therapy Can Help You Put The Pieces Back Together

As a Muslim couples therapist based in Northern Virginia, I offer trauma-informed couples therapy designed to support emotional reconnection during one of life's most challenging seasons.

Through Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT), I help couples find each other again in the middle of the hardest seasons of their lives.

We work together to understand how each of you is coping with grief, fear, and uncertainty. You'll learn how to communicate emotional needs without blame or shutdown. We'll create space for both partners' experiences without comparison or pressure. We'll work to rebuild intimacy and connection, even if you feel distant or broken. And we'll help you reclaim a sense of partnership as you navigate decisions and uncertainty together.

Even if you don't know what to say or how to say it, this work helps you talk about what matters. Couples are often surprised by what they learn about each other during this process—not because they haven't been trying, but because they finally have a space to connect differently.

You Shouldn't Have to Explain Everything to Your Therapist

If you're from a Muslim, Arab, South Asian, or Middle Eastern background, you may already feel hesitant about therapy. Maybe you worry about stigma. Maybe you wonder if therapy is even for people like us.

Maybe you're afraid of being misunderstood—again. Of having to justify why your faith matters. Of being told to just pray more or stay positive.

You don't have to explain that here. As a Muslim and Arab therapist, I understand the cultural, spiritual, and emotional complexities you may be navigating. I won't judge your pain or your values. I offer a space where you and your partner can process your experience without the pressure of having to educate someone about who you are or what matters to you.

This Is for Couples Who Are

Navigating infertility, loss, or the transition to parenthood. Feeling disconnected in the wake of trauma, grief, or medical stress. Trying to support each other but missing each other emotionally. Seeking a safe space to talk through complex feelings and strengthen their bond. Wanting to be proactive about protecting their relationship through a vulnerable season.

Therapy can be a place to deepen your connection, hold space for both of you, and stay grounded in what you're building—even if that dream looks different than you imagined.

Schedule a Free Consultation

Whether you're looking for support for new parents or therapy for couples facing infertility or pregnancy loss, perinatal couples therapy can help you reconnect and move forward together.

If you're feeling distant from the person you love most while facing one of the hardest things you've ever gone through, you don't have to navigate it alone.

Let's talk about what's going on and how I can help. Schedule your free 15-minute consultation to see if working together feels like the right fit.

Supporting each other doesn’t have to feel this hard. Let's find your way back to connection.

Request Appointment

Rebuild your relationship—one conversation at a time.

  • A person holding a string of metallic prayer beads with a tassel, seated in a cross-legged position.

    Deepen Connection

    Emotion-Focused Therapy for Couples (EFT) helps couples explore and express underlying emotions, fostering a secure emotional bond and breaking patterns of disconnection.

  • A woman wearing a white hijab and lavender jacket, sitting on a sofa, with her hands clasped under her chin.

    Improve Communication

    With the Gottman Method and EFT we’ll focus on practical skills for communicating effectively, managing conflict, and increasing mutual respect and understanding.

  • A person holding a white stone with the word 'Balance' written on it, with hands in a gentle pose against a pastel-colored coat.

    Heal Past Hurts

    Using Intimacy from the Inside Out (IFIO) and Internal Family Systems (IFS), we’ll explore how past experiences and internal emotional conflicts influence your relationship, helping you heal and create new, healthier patterns together.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  • Not at all. Many couples start therapy as a proactive way to protect their relationship while going through a difficult season.

  • Yes. I provide a compassionate space for couples processing grief after miscarriage, stillbirth, or perinatal loss.

  • Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT) is short-term, typically lasting 12 to 20 sessions. That being said, every couple is different, and we’ll tailor the process to your needs.

  • Yes. I offer online and in-person couples therapy to clients located in Northern Virginia and other parts of Virginia, as well as in-person sessions based on availability.

  • Dr. Alwani is currently an out-of-network provider with almost all insurance plans, but can estimate your out-of-network benefits using Thrizer and provide a superbill for possible reimbursement through your insurance. Dr. Alwani is currently an in-network provider with only Aetna insurance, however, as of 6/1/2025, she will be discontinuing her relationship with Aetna, and will be out-of-network with all plans.

  • Absolutely. Many people are unsure about starting. That’s why I offer a free consultation—so we can talk about your concerns before you make a decision.