Coping with the Journey of Infertility and/or Adoption

The Benefits of Psychological Counseling...

Seeking out psychological support can be most beneficial at certain times during your infertility journey and/or on your road to adoption.

When faced with making a difficult decision, when embarking on new parenting options, or when dealing with a major loss one may experience a sense of loneliness, stress and depression. Couples experiencing family building adversities may experience difficulty communicating with each other, feel misunderstood and a lack of support.

Psychological support offers a safe place to express and explore the feelings generated by the infertility and adoption experience, and can help individuals move toward a positive resolution in this difficult time.

Individual, Couple and/or Support Groups are available to meet your needs.

Infertility

Infertility often creates one of the most distressing life crises that a couple will ever experience together. The long term inability to conceive a child can evoke significant feelings of loss. Coping with the multitude of medical decisions and the uncertainties that infertility brings can create great emotional upheaval for most couples. If you find yourself feeling anxious, depressed, out of control, or isolated, you are not alone, and you may benefit greatly from working with a mental health professional.

Adoption

The road to adoption is not an easy one for most families. If you're like most, you have probably endured tremendous disappointment, loss, stress, and a drain of financial resources, not to mention a roller coaster of alternating and exhausting emotions. Timely intervention by a professional skilled in adoption issues often can prevent issues common to adoption from becoming more serious problems that might be more difficult to resolve

Support Groups

There are separate support groups for Infertility and Adoption. Groups are often composed of 8 to 10 individuals or 4 to 5 couples. Sessions are scheduled weekly for 10-12 weeks. Membership is generally closed after the second meeting.. Intake appointments with each support group participant is scheduled prior to the start of the group. The support group will be a safe place where individuals can process feelings relating to their family building efforts. Making the decision to join a support group can be difficult for some people. It may be the first time you have ever been in a group and you may wonder if you will become overly emotional in the group and too vulnerable to others. Remember that most people feel insecure about joining a group! But, keep in mind that a group will help you feel less isolated, empower you with knowledge and validate your emotional response to the life crisis of infertility and/or adoption.