Couple Therapy for Reproductive Grief

This book provides a clear, replicable framework for working with couples navigating infertility, miscarriage, perinatal loss, and other forms of reproductive grief, equipping clinicians to help move partners from isolation toward deeper connection.

Integrating interpersonal mindfulness and evidence-based couple therapy models, the book aids therapists in reducing conflict, deepening emotional connection, and supporting meaning-making in the face of loss. Rich case examples and practical interventions make this an essential guide for couple therapists working with this under-addressed form of grief.

Reproductive grief affects a striking proportion of couples, yet existing therapeutic resources typically treat the couple as individual sufferers, rather than as an interdependent system. Clayton A. Brigance combines his years of clinical work and research with couples experiencing reproductive grief, along with an expert synthesis of contemporary literature on emotional processing and dyadic coping, to introduce four pillars of connection that can help couples support each other: connecting through mindful emotional attunement, navigating heightened and decisional conflict, sharing disrupted visions of parenthood, and maintaining quality sex and intimacy.

Grounded in the neurobiology of trauma and the science of emotional connection, this book discusses how to utilize two well-established couple therapy modalities: emotionally focused couple therapy and Gottman method couple therapy. Practitioners are given concrete tools and exercises, as well as clinical vignettes that help bring these approaches to life. Closing chapters address countertransference, self-disclosure, multicultural considerations including BIPOC and LGBTQIA couples, and the future of reproductive grief-centered couple therapy.

Table of Contents

Dedication

Introduction: Why Couple Therapists Should Read This Book

Part I. The Emotional Impacts of Reproductive Grief in Couple Relationships

• Chapter 1. Understanding the Spectrum of Reproductive Grief and Its Emotional Impact
• Chapter 2. Reproductive Grief and the Impact on Couple Relationships

Part II. Helping Couples During Reproductive Grief: The "Why" Behind Better Connection or Relationship Disruption

• Chapter 3. The Four Pillars of Maintaining Couple Connection Through Reproductive Grief
• Chapter 4. The First Pillar of Connection: Connecting Through Mindful Emotional Attunement During Reproductive Grief
• Chapter 5. The Second Pillar of Connection: Navigating Heightened and Decisional Conflict During Reproductive Grief
• Chapter 6. The Third Pillar of Connection: Sharing Disrupted Visions of Parenthood
• Chapter 7. The Fourth Pillar of Connection: Maintaining Quality Sex During Reproductive Grief
• Chapter 8. Integrating the Four Pillars into Couple Therapy
• Chapter 9. Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy with Couples Navigating Reproductive Grief
• Chapter 10. Gottman Method Couple Therapy with Couples Navigating Reproductive Grief

Part III. The Next Frontier for Helping Couples Experiencing Reproductive Grief

• Chapter 11. Navigating Difficult Issues Faced by Couple Therapists Serving Clients With Reproductive Grief
• Chapter 12. The Love That Survives Reproductive Grief

References

Glossary

Index

About the Author

Clayton A. Brigance, PhD, LPC, is a licensed professional counselor and founder of Shiloh Counseling, a group practice specializing in couple therapy for infertility and reproductive grief. He has worked with over 1,000 individuals and couples navigating infertility and miscarriage and conducts research on interpersonal mindfulness and relational resilience under chronic reproductive stress. A nationally recognized speaker and trainer, Dr. Brigance integrates mindfulness in couple therapy, evidence-based couple therapy, and lived experience—drawing from his own journey through infertility—to help couples transform conflict and grief into deeper emotional connection.