If it’s 2am and you’re wide awake — nursing a baby while your mind races, or lying next to a partner who feels like a stranger — I want you to know this isn’t you failing. This is a nervous system asking for help.
I know what 2am feels like.
Maybe you’re up because the baby finally fell back asleep, but you can’t. Your body is exhausted and your mind won’t stop — running through everything you did wrong today, everything you’re afraid you’ll do wrong tomorrow, wondering if this fog ever lifts. Maybe there’s no baby at all. Maybe it’s just you, staring at the ceiling next to someone you used to feel close to, replaying the same argument you’ve had a dozen times, wondering when you became strangers who share a bed.
If either of those is you right now — I see you. And I want you to know you’re not broken, and you’re not alone.
I’m Betsy Dye Nichols. I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor, Nationally Certified Counselor, and Certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional (PMH-C) at The Relationship Center. I sit with people in exactly these moments — the 2am moments, the “I can’t keep doing this alone” moments, the moments that are hard to say out loud in daylight. I would be honored to sit alongside you in this, too.
For the mother who feels like she’s disappearing
The anxious thoughts that loop at 2am. The guilt that shows up no matter what you do. The grief for the person you were before, tangled up with love for who you’re becoming. Perinatal anxiety, postpartum depression, and birth trauma don’t look like weakness — they look like a nervous system that has been stretched past what it was built to hold, in a role that gives you almost no time to recover. As a Certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional (PMH-C), this is the work I’ve built my practice around. You don’t have to earn the right to ask for help. You already have it.
For the couple who’s lost their way back to each other
I’ve found — and the research backs this up — that the couples who struggle most aren’t the ones who fight, it’s the ones who can’t repair afterward. Without repair, one hard night becomes a pattern, and the pattern becomes a story you both start to believe about each other: that you’re too far gone, that this is just how it is now. It isn’t. I work primarily through Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT), integrating the Gottman Method, to help you understand what’s actually happening underneath the fights — and to help you find your way back to each other.
Why me?
Tackling this alone is harder, and often less effective. Letting someone in when you’re vulnerable doesn’t make you weaker — research and experience have taught me it’s actually what builds resilience. I bring everything I’ve learned as a therapist, and everything I’ve lived as a wife, a mother, a daughter, and a human being who has had her own 2am nights. I approach therapy with empathy, compassion, humor, and humility. With me, you can expect a warm, non-judgmental space, evidence-based care, and a pace that’s built around you — not a formula.
When I’m not in the therapy room, you’ll usually find me outside with my kids, running, on a yoga mat, or — more realistically — folding an endless pile of laundry and stepping on stray Lego® pieces.
If tonight is one of those 2am nights, I want you to know that reaching out tomorrow is enough. You don’t have to have the words figured out yet.
Specialties & Modalities
| Area | Focus |
|---|---|
| Perinatal & Maternal Mental Health | Pregnancy, postpartum, birth trauma, identity transitions |
| Couples & Relationships | Repair, connection, communication, trust-rebuilding |
| Anxiety & Depression | Evidence-based, individualized treatment |
| Self-Harm & Overwhelm | Trauma-informed, nervous-system-focused care |
My clinical approach: Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT), Gottman Method, trauma-informed and evidence-based practice
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can’t I stop the racing thoughts at night, especially as a new mom? Postpartum anxiety often intensifies at night, when the day’s distractions fall away and your nervous system — already stretched thin from sleep loss and hormonal shifts — has nothing to compete with the worry. I want you to know this is a common, treatable response, not a personal failing.
Is it normal to feel disconnected from my partner after having a baby, or after years together? Yes. Relationship disconnection is one of the most common reasons couples come see me, and it’s rarely about a lack of love — it’s usually about a breakdown in repair after conflict, which is exactly what Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy is designed to address.
What is a PMH-C, and why does it matter? PMH-C stands for Certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional — a national certification through Postpartum Support International. It means I’ve pursued advanced training specifically in pregnancy and postpartum mental health, beyond my general clinical licensure.
What therapy approach do you use with couples? I work primarily through Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT), integrating the Gottman Method, to help you understand and shift the dynamics underneath your conflict.
Are you trained in trauma treatment? Yes — I hold Advanced Trauma Treatment Level 1 Certification through the Ferentz Institute.
Accomplishments
- Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Virginia
- Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC)
- Board Certified–TeleMental Health Provider (BC-TMH)
- Certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional (PMH-C)
- Advanced Trauma Treatment–Level 1 Certification, The Ferentz Institute
- Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT200), Yoga Alliance
Contact
Betsy Dye Nichols, LPC, NCC, PMH-C The Relationship Center of Hampton Roads Email: betsynichols@relationship-center.com Phone: (757) 788-2800, ext. 608. Reach out today to schedule an appointment!
Rates
| New Client Consultation | Free 15-minute phone consult |
| Individual Therapy | $175 for 50-minute session |
| Couples Therapy | $200 for 50-minute session |
| Late Cancellation | Full Session Fee for cancellation within 24 hours of appointment |
| No Show Appointment Fee | Full Session Fee + phone call required to be reinstated on schedule |
Payment
Credit or debit cards, as well as HSA and FSA cards are accepted for payment.
Insurance
Betsy is currently paneled with Blue Cross Blue Shield and Sentara for Virginia residents. If Betsy is not paneled with your insurance company and you prefer to use your insurance, she will be considered an out-of-network provider. You will be charged the private pay rates and will be provided with a receipt for services that you can submit to your insurance company for reimbursement.
