Supportive Counseling Services

Complementary Care Group for Infertility offers counseling services to individuals as well as to couples. Counseling is very effective for individuals or couples who may need support during their infertility journey. Counseling is a safe place to process the emotions that often times seem to take over while trying to have a baby; sadness, anger, isolation and fear. Sometimes individuals or couples decide to use counseling as additional support to the mind/body programs for infertility, and other times, an individual or couple may opt to use these services instead of the mind/body programs.

Individual Counseling can provide support, guidance and education while learning new ways to cope with the difficult emotions related to infertility. In counseling, mind/body strategies are introduced to help mange the stress of infertility in the midst of ongoing medical treatments and the uncertainty of outcome.

Learning to better cope with and manage the stress of infertility is extremely important as the longer a couple has been trying to get pregnant, and the longer a woman is exposed to the chronic stress of infertility, the more likely the woman is to become depressed. It is critical to seek help immediately if you think you or your partner are experiencing depression, as even mild depression can have a negative impact on fertility and treatment outcome. A consultation with a mental health professional is the most accurate way to assess depressive symptoms and create a good treatment plan.

Individual counseling can also help facilitate the grief and loss that is associated with failed treatment cycles and miscarriages. It is important to recognize and process the grief associated with infertility so that you can continue to move forward in your journey to become parents.

Couples Counseling is helpful for couples, married or not, who are having a difficult time communicating, and making good decisions together regarding family building and treatment options. Couples counseling offers the opportunity to gain understanding of your own coping style, and that of your partner, and learn how to better communicate and work together to enhance your relationship on all levels.

It can be difficult to know if couples counseling would benefit your relationship. Following is a list of that can be helpful in evaluating whether your relationship can benefit from couples counseling:

• You and your partner disagree or fight frequently.
  
• You and you partner are not talking to each other much at all.
  
• You and your partner cannot talk about infertility or other family building options with each other.
  
• Sex is an unpleasant chore or duty.
  
• You and your partner have very different priorities about families and children.
  
• You are using alcohol or drugs to dull the pain.
  
• You are your partner are less sensitive to each other’s needs, and may be saying and doing hurtful things to each other.
  
• One or both of you seem especially stressed, irritable, or are showing signs of depression.