Infertility
"Alleviating depression and other psychological distress in infertile women appears to make it easier for them to become pregnant."
-Alice Domar, in Conquering Infertility: Dr. Alice Domar's Mind/Body Guide to Enhancing Fertility and Coping with Infertility (2002)
Have your challenges with trying to conceive left you:
- Feeling full of anxiety
- Thinking “what if” thoughts all the time
- Feeling discouraged, and at times even hopeless
- Depressed, lacking energy, and generally not yourself
- Feeling jealous and resentful of others
- Isolated and disconnected from others
Are you wondering: “What is the point of counselling when the only thing that will change things for me is getting pregnant?”
Have you thought: “I can’t start to enjoy my life again and feel more positive until I am pregnant?”
When people suggest counselling to you, do you say: “I don’t want to work on my past, I’m more scared about my future right now, and it’s making the present unbearable!”
Research has shown that counselling helps those encountering infertility by:
- Processing painful emotions and fears related to infertility
- Enabling couples to support one another more effectively
- Helping to develop more effective coping strategies
- Exploring important decisions and options
Elana has extensive experience counselling adults and couples as well as in-depth knowledge of the science and biology behind fertility and current reproductive technology for assisted conception. She is a panelist in the Ask an Expert forum on ivf.ca, a national website specializing in information and forums for those undergoing treatment for infertility. She facilitates an 8-week program called Source: Fertility for Mind and Body.