Fertility Issues

Overview of Fertility Issues: The inability to conceive a child can be a very painful circumstance, in some cases leading to grief perhaps as intense as the grief of actually losing a child. While fertility treatments in the medical field may be able to help some individuals and couples, for people who are not (yet) able to procreate, but want to, psychotherapy can be a way to work through feelings of grief, anxiety, worry, and other emotions. It can also help couples to deal with feelings of guilt or anger that may arise between the two partners when one person is infertile, and to make decisions about how to proceed – adoption, fertility treatments, artificial insemination, surrogate parenting, or even separation.

The Medical Model and Fertility Issues: There is no specific psychological diagnosis for this issue, but depression, extended grief, anxiety, and relationship problems are certainly possibilities.

Case Example of Fertility Issues:

Janie, 29, and her husband, Paul, 30, seek therapy to deal with their recent discovery that Janie cannot, in all likelihood, bear children. Paul appears to be supportive, but Janie is terrified he will leave her. The therapist helps them to explore options for raising a family – adoption, etc – and helps Paul to admit to some feelings of resentment and confusion about what to do. His admission at first upset Janie, as it seems to confirm her fears, but she soon comes to appreciate his honesty, and feels better having his feelings out in the open. Paul’s ability to talk about his ambivalence helps him to work through it and reach a place of acceptance and renewed commitment to Janie.

Therapy for Fertility Issues: There is a wide range of Psychotherapy Treatment Models or types of therapy used in the treatment of fertility issues. Most of these approaches fall into three historic camps of psychology: Psychoanalytic / Psychodynamic approaches; Behaviorism and; Humanism. Regardless of the type of therapy, there are some generally agreed upon elements of healthy therapy which are universal to all forms of psychotherapy. Before beginning therapy for fertility issues or any other issue, it is helpful to familiarize oneself with these elements.

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Fertility Issues Article Summaries