An estimated one out of every ten couples have difficulty conceiving. Navigating the process of family building while struggling with infertility often comes with feelings of grief, frustration, anxiety, and isolation.
Infertility counseling provides essential support, helping individuals navigate the medical, emotional, and ethical complexities of infertility. A therapist trained in infertility counseling can offer guidance, coping strategies, grief counseling and couple’s support. Therapists specializing in infertility counseling can also help you explore family building options, such as Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) or the use of a donor or gestational carrier or adoption.
Support and Guidance on the Path to Parenthood
Infertility Counseling
What Is Infertility and How Common Is It?
Infertility is defined as the inability to conceive after one year of trying (or six months for individuals over 35). It can result from a variety of factors including age, hormonal concerns, structural issues, genetic conditions, or unexplained causes. Infertility affects both men and women, with approximately:
1 in 6 couples worldwide experiencing infertility at some point in their reproductive years.
30% of cases attributed to male infertility factors
30% of cases attributed to female infertility factors
30% attributed to combined male/female factors or remaining unexplained
For those facing infertility, the emotional toll can be significant, impacting self-esteem, relationships, and mental health. This is where infertility counseling can play a crucial role.
How Can a Therapist Trained in Infertility Counseling Help?
Infertility counseling provides a safe space to process emotions, explore options, and develop coping strategies. A therapist trained in infertility can help in several key ways:
1. Emotional Support
The process of trying to conceive can be mentally exhausting. Infertility therapists help clients navigate feelings of grief, loss, guilt, and anxiety, providing tools to manage stress and maintain emotional well-being.
2. Relationship and Communication Guidance
Struggles with infertility can place strain on relationships. Each member of a couple has a different experience of infertility and may have different emotional needs. Relationship Counseling can help couples communicate effectively, support one another, and strengthen their connection during a challenging time.
3. Decision-Making Support
Deciding whether to pursue fertility treatments, adoption, surrogacy, or to stop trying altogether can be overwhelming. A trained infertility therapist helps individuals and couples clarify their values and make informed decisions that align with their emotional and financial well-being.
4. Support Through Medical Treatments
Navigating fertility treatments like IVF, IUI, or hormone therapies can be complex and stressful. Infertility counselors provide emotional support throughout the process, helping clients manage expectations and cope with the ups and downs of treatment.
5. Grief Support
Coping with feelings of grief and loss is a very common when navigating infertility. Whether you are coping with the loss of fertility or medical concerns, the loss of things going “as they should,” the loss of relationships and connections during treatment, or pregnancy loss, therapists trained in infertility counseling can help.
Sadly, pregnancy loss is not uncommon when trying to build your family. Whether you are managing recurrent pregnancy loss, miscarriage, selective reduction, termination for medication reasons, or stillbirth, therapists trained in fertility counseling are trained to understand these unique experiences of grief and offer support and interventions to help you cope.
Third-Party Reproduction
Counseling for Egg, Sperm, and Embryo Donation & Surrogacy
For some individuals and couples, third-party reproduction—using donor eggs, sperm, embryos, or a gestational carrier—offers a path to parenthood. While this option brings hope, it also involves unique psychological needs and considerations.
Infertility counselors can assist with:
Processing the Emotional Aspects of Using a Donor or Surrogate – Clients may struggle with grief over not having a genetic connection to their child or have concerns about how to navigate future conversations with their child.
Helping Intended Parents Prepare for the Future – Therapists can help clients think through how and when to disclose donor conception to their child and manage relationships with donors or surrogates. Our team can also provide mental health consultations as required by fertility clinics.
Screening and Support for Donors and Surrogates – Fertility clinics require mental health evaluations for individuals involved in third-party reproduction to ensure they are emotionally prepared.
Navigating Single Parenthood - Patients pursuing parenthood without a partner benefit greatly from working with a therapist trained in fertility counseling who can help them navigate the requirements of the clinic and talk through the unique experience of using a donor.
GLBTQ+ Families - Many queer families require donor gametes and/or a gestational carrier to build their families. Our therapists offer an affirming and knowledgeable approach to supporting your family building, whether through supportive therapy or consultations required by your clinic.
Why It’s Important to Work with a Therapist Trained in Infertility Counseling
Infertility is a specialized area that requires a deep understanding of both the emotional and medical aspects of reproductive health. A general therapist may not have the necessary knowledge to address the complexities of infertility, fertility treatments, and third-party reproduction.
Our dedicated team of specialized therapists are here to help with in-person therapy in Washington, DC and teletherapy in Maryland, Virginia, and over 40 states. Whether undergoing fertility treatments, considering third-party reproduction, or exploring alternative family-building options, working with a trained infertility therapist can make a profound difference in emotional well-being and decision-making.
Contact us to learn more and get support now.