GOTTMAN COUPLES WORKSHOP · SHEFFIELD
Bringing Baby Home
A workshop for couples on the threshold of parenthood. You'll leave with a deeper understanding of each other and a shared foundation for what's ahead.
Dr Helen Lewis · DClinPsy · Clinical Psychologist
Before you become
three
WHO THIS IS FOR
Bringing Baby Home is designed for couples who are expecting their first or second baby, and for couples with a baby in their first year. You might be feeling the strain already, or you might simply want to support your relationship during this transition.
Expecting couples
Perhaps you know that things are likely to change once baby arrives, and you'd like to understand what that actually involves. Perhaps you want to build something together before the sleepless nights begin. This workshop gives you a shared language and a set of tools to carry in with you.
Couples in the first year
Maybe you're already in it and something feels harder than you expected. Perhaps the closeness you had requires more effort than it used to. This workshop is for that too. Couples in the first year often find that having the time and space to understand what's shifted between them and work on it together, is exactly what's been missing.
Sometimes
love isn’t enough.
WHAT THE RESEARCH SHOWS
Research has consistently found that the transition to parenthood is one of the most demanding periods a relationship faces. Virtually nothing about the modern world prepares couples for how much changes: who you are to each other, how you communicate when you're depleted, what intimacy looks like in survival mode, how quickly resentment can accumulate when the weight feels unevenly shared.
Thirty years of couples research shows that relationship quality after a baby isn't fixed by circumstance. It's shaped by things that can be learned: how well partners understand each other's inner world, how they navigate conflict without eroding trust, how deliberately they tend to the friendship at the centre of everything. This is what Bringing Baby Home is designed to give you.
67% of couples experience
a significant decline in
relationship satisfaction
within three years
of having a baby.*
* Gottman Institute research, following couples across the transition to parenthood.
Dr Helen Lewis, Clinical Psychologist
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR
I'm a Clinical Psychologist specialising in the psychological and relational experience of building a family, in all the forms that it takes.
Most antenatal classes miss out on the relationship entirely and I wanted to change that. The Bringing Baby Home workshop was developed by the Gottman Institute, drawing on decades of research into what helps make relationships last.
These workshops are designed to support your transition into parenthood and give you practical tools to keep your relationship strong.
WHAT WE’LL COVER
The workshop in detail
The Bringing Baby Home workshop was developed by Drs John and Julie Gottman, drawing on decades of research into what actually changes in couple relationships when a baby arrives, and what helps partners stay close through it. It's one of the most evidence-based programmes available for expecting couples, validated by the Gottman Institute and used internationally.
How the workshop runs
Dates and location will be confirmed soon. The programme will run in one of the following formats. your preference is noted when you join the waitlist.
OPTION 1
Full Weekend
Saturday and Sunday, full days. An immersive two-day experience for couples who want to go deep without the week in between.
OPTION 2
Two Saturdays
Two consecutive Saturdays, full days. The same content across a fortnight, with time to notice things between sessions.
OPTION 3
Four Saturday Mornings
9am to 12.30pm across four consecutive Saturdays. a gentler pace for those juggling demanding weeks.
Be the first to know when dates are announced.
JOIN THE WAITLIST
Bringing Baby Home is coming to Sheffield. I’ll be in touch as soon as dates and format are confirmed. Let me know where you are in the journey so I can make sure the timing works for you.
COMMON QUESTIONS
A few things people ask
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Bringing Baby Home is a psychoeducational workshop designed for couples who are essentially well and want to invest in their relationship. It isn't couples therapy, and it isn't a substitute for it. If you're navigating something more complex, individual or couples therapy may be a better fit, and you're welcome to enquire.
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This workshop is designed for couples across a wide range — from those who simply want to be prepared, to those already feeling the strain of the transition. You don't need to be in a particular place to benefit. If you're uncertain whether this is the right fit, you're very welcome to get in touch before joining the waitlist.
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Yes. This is a couples workshop, and it works best when both people have chosen to attend. If one partner is reluctant, it may be worth exploring couples therapy first, where there's more space to work with that ambivalence directly.
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Details of venue and any childcare options will be confirmed alongside dates. If childcare is likely to be a barrier, please mention it when you join the waitlist — it helps me understand what support would be most useful when planning the programme.
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Pricing will be confirmed with dates. The workshop is priced per couple. I’m committed to making it as accessible as possible, and will share details of any early access or reduced-cost places when they become available to people on the waitlist.
Therapy doesn't have to be a last resort. It can also be a choice to take the relationship seriously and invest in it, whatever stage you're at.
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Yes. Bringing Baby Home is the beginning of a wider programme for couples navigating the transition to parenthood. Further resources, including an online course for expecting couples, are in development. Joining the waitlist is the best way to hear about everything as it becomes available.