I was asked recently by the Southern California Counseling Center to speak to therapists about working with couples and individuals experiencing difficulty with creating children. The audience was very active and we discussed a whole host of issues. Everyone has their own experience as they work through this process, but common themes are feelings of shame and blame, an emotional roller coaster of hope and despair, loss and mourning, sexual disfunction, decreased ability to empathize with partner as process drags on, communication problems in relationship (avoidance of difficult subjects), secrecy of process and isolation from friends and family, donor/surrogacy options and concerns about “stranger dna”. Although my presentation was just over two hours, we only started to scrape the surface of this complex issue and how it effects sense of self and sense of couples. I hope that my training was beneficial in opening up ways for other clinicians to consider the depth of possible stressors and gave them positive ways to interact with their clients as they guide them through this often traumatic time.
Working with Couples Facing Fertility Challenges
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