Infertility is so much more than wanting a baby and being unable to have one. It is about the emotional, physical, financial tolls on your life, which becomes consumed with appointments, procedures, medications, etc. and wrestling everyday with feeling that your life is “on hold” and not going as planned.

The experience of infertility is characterized by a range of emotions, from disbelief and denial, to grief and sadness, to intense anger and jealousy, and consuming anxiety about having so little control. It is dealing with well-intentioned but hurtful questions and comments from people in your life. It is getting bad news after bad news to the point that when you finally get good news, it can be hard to trust.

Infertility is on the rise, as of 2023 1 in 6 US couples struggle with infertility (up from 1 in 8). Studies show that people with infertility struggle with anxiety and depression to similar levels of those with cancer, HIV, and heart disease. Infertility is often misunderstood and may not be fully recognized as the devastating medical condition it is, further complicating patient’s experiences and feelings of isolation. 

Therapists who specialize in working with infertility should have specialized training in the medical, psychological, and legal aspects of infertility, reproductive medicine and assisted reproductive technology (ART), and third party reproduction (which refers to using sperm donors, egg donors, or gestational carriers “surrogates”). We are proud to help the LGBTQ+ community and individuals pursuing single parenthood by choice in their family building.

“In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”

Albert Camus

How a therapist trained in Reproductive Psychology can help you through therapy:

• Help you navigate the world of Assisted Reproduction, such as medicated cycles, IUI, IVF, or third party reproduction using an egg or sperm donor, or gestational carrier
• Educate you about the process of different infertility treatments and procedures
• Help you improve how you cope with the stress of infertility
• Help you improve communication with your partner and address the strain on your sex life and intimacy
• Process the difficult emotions infertility elicits that others in your life may not understand
• Navigate triggering dates on the calendar (anniversaries, due dates and loss dates), interpersonal events (baby showers, birth announcements etc), and conversations with friends/family/coworkers
• Help you communicate with your doctors and make the most of your appointments
• Help you understand results and make treatment decisions
• Help you make choices such as pursuing egg, sperm, or embryo freezing for fertility preservation, discarding embryos, pursuing ART as a single parent by choice

How a therapist trained in Reproductive Psychology can help you through consultations or assessments:

• We provide Intended Parent Consultations/Assessments to those receiving donor sperm or eggs for fertility treatment

At this time, we do not offer the following (but plan to in the future):

• Intended parent consultations/assessments for those using a surrogate 
• Psychological evaluations for those seeking to be egg donors, sperm donors, or gestational carriers
• Specialized couples counseling for infertility

Therapists who work with infertility