What is Fertility Counselling?
Fertility counselling, like any other form of counselling, is a confidential space provided just for you (and your partner, if applicable). Whatever your situation, it offers a space to think about what you are experiencing, with someone who is not connected to anyone else in your life.
We recognise that fertility treatment is demanding in many ways, and it's entirely understandable that it can affect various aspects of your life. There is a great deal to process and cope with, and it can help to think and talk it through with someone. This can help work out how best to manage your life while trying to conceive, and afterwards, whether or not treatment is successful. Many people find they benefit greatly from fertility counselling and from taking time to focus and reconnect with themselves.
Our fertility counsellors are familiar with the wide range of reasons someone might find themselves undergoing fertility treatment, as well as with the full spectrum of treatments LCRH offers. You won't need to explain everything to us.
Fertility counselling can differ in some respects from other forms of counselling. While you may be looking for regular sessions, we understand you might prefer a one-off session, whether to see if counselling is helpful or because a single session is enough to help you through a difficult moment. Other people find it useful to dip in and out of counselling at different stages of treatment. We are accustomed to supporting people with a range of commitment levels, and we believe people can benefit even from just one session.
What is Implications Counselling?
Implications counselling is a confidential space for you (and your partner, if applicable) to explore the short- and long-term implications of treatment or storage decisions. It enables you to consider how your decisions about treatment and the storage of your eggs, sperm, or embryos might affect you, your partner, your children (if applicable), and any child who may be conceived as a result.
If you are considering treatment using donor eggs, sperm, or embryos, implications counselling takes on an additional dimension, exploring the specific issues that can arise from using donor gametes to build your family. This may include thinking about whether and how you will tell any resulting child about their donor conception, how you might approach questions from family and friends, and how you feel about the possibility of your child seeking information about their donor in the future. Implications counselling offers a confidential space to think through what this might mean for you, your partner (if applicable), and your child, both now and in the years ahead, and to consider how you feel about the wider implications of donor conception for your family.
While this specialist type of counselling differs significantly from other forms of counselling, it is not legal advice, nor an assessment of your suitability for treatment. Implications counselling gives you the opportunity to ask questions confidentially, without fear of judgement, and to gain the information you need. It also provides a space to prepare for treatment and to explore practical and emotional strategies for managing what can be a stressful time.
Our counsellors aim to help you reach a confident and comfortable decision, whether about treatment or about consenting to store your eggs, sperm, or embryos.