Please Note: Due to the current situation with COVID-19, I am offering Telehealth video therapy sessions via a HIPAA-compliant videoconferencing service. If interested, please let me know.
Navigate Infertility and Create the Family You Desire
If you’re like many of my clients struggling with infertility, you probably feel extremely overwhelmed and alone.
Most of us grow up believing that we’ll be able to conceive a child without much effort.
Given this, it’s little wonder that an infertility diagnosis can seem unimaginable. It can feel is if we’ve lost all control over our own bodies and our lives…
If everywhere we turn we see pregnant women, infants, and families, it’s easy to start wondering: “What’s wrong with me? Why am I the only one unable to conceive? Will I ever be able to have the family I desire? What can I do?!?” … It’s easy to begin to feel hopeless.
An infertility diagnosis calls into question our basic understanding of ourselves and our world.
And, to make matters worse, it’s also an experience that brings with it no small amount of stress … emotional, financial and even social.
What Can You Do?
What treatment option or options are right for you? There are so many different opinions about what one should do – what treatments or procedures one should undergo – it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and conflicted about your choices and what each of them means for you financially, spiritually, and in terms of your own comfort, identity, and self-esteem.
How do you fit infertility treatment into an already busy schedule?
And whom do you tell and how much do you say? Unfortunately, all too often our attempts to reach out to others for support are met with misunderstanding or dismissal.
These are all questions with which almost every infertile couple struggles.
And then there’s the waiting… And the waiting…
But, you don’t have to go through it alone.
You can feel heard and validated… And, you can reclaim control over your body and your choices!
When Should You Seek Help?
Struggling with infertility brings up a myriad of issues around one’s primal needs and desires.
An infertility diagnosis cuts to the core and often triggers the need to work through one’s individual understanding of what it means to be a parent, a child, and a couple.
Infertility also demands the evaluation of one’s idea of what a family is and how one’s goal of becoming a parent or building a family might be reached in alternative ways.
As someone who specializes in helping couples struggling with infertility, my goal is to create a non-judgmental space in which you can speak your truth comfortably and know your fears and concerns can and will be heard and understood.
I can help you and your:
- Determine what, specifically, about the infertility experience is causing the most stress, as well as develop the tools and techniques to effectively manage that stress;
- Figure out with whom and how to talk about your infertility;
- Acknowledge and work through any concerns, grief, fear, or shame you may feel;
- Evaluate different treatment options, so you can make a truly informed decision;
- Decide what’s most important for you;
- Make sure you’re both in agreement about the choices you’re making; and
- Locate and access the ongoing support you need.
Of course, some form of professional infertility counseling is often required prior to using a sperm, egg, or embryo donor. The same is true for surrogacy and adoption.
But, if you feel like infertility is making it difficult to be productive or enjoy your life, you don’t take pleasure from activities that once brought joy, or you experience persistent feelings of anxiety, depression, guilt, fear, hopelessness, or worthlessness, then you need more emotional support than you’re currently receiving.
Even if you’re just looking for someone to talk with openly, some additional coping strategies, or if you’d like some extra support, seeking the help of an infertility counselor is always something that’s better to do sooner rather than later.
You don’t have to a have a pre-defined reason for seeking help. And you definitely don’t want to wait until small issues have grown into full-blown anxiety or depression before…
Getting the Help You Deserve!
I can not only provide the support you need and deserve, but also help you learn the coping skills that can help you make sense of your experiences in the present while simultaneously making the best choices for your future, so you can take back control of your life.
The counseling and psychotherapy services I provide can help you achieve not only a greater understanding of yourself and your desire to be a parent, but also help you come to accept whatever outcome you achieve.
I want to be your advocate in your journey through infertility to the other side… whatever that is for you.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me today to ask any questions you have and find out how I can help. You can reach me at 503-961-9200 or by email me at julie@juliewilliamspsyd.com.
The sooner you get the professional support you need and deserve, the sooner you’ll be able to handle the difficulties of the present and make the best choices for you, so you can move forward towards an uncertain future with both confidence and optimism.
Call me today at 503-961-9200 or email me at julie@juliewilliamspsyd.com. I look forward to speaking with you and helping you create the family you can truly cherish, no matter what that means for you.
