When you long for a child of your own but the cradle remains empty, your heart aches. Every month, each round of treatment can be heartbreaking, cutting to the deepest part of your soul. All the infertility tests and medical procedures you undergo require that you dissociate just a little from your body, separating your deepest emotions from the act of love. This process of exposing and “medicalizing” the most intimate aspects of your life can try your patience, strain even the best relationship and destroy your sex life.

The longer infertility treatment goes on, the more times you ride the roller coaster of emotions from excitement and anticipation to frustration and grief, the more difficult it becomes. Since each person grieves differently, couples often find the marriage strained during this process. In particular, the medicalization of conception can really throw a kink into lovemaking. Among couples going through fertility treatment, 22% of men report experiencing mild to moderate erectile difficulties.

Meanwhile, 34% of women report decreased desire, 72% complain of lubrication problems, 81% say they feel decreased sensation and pleasure and 23% report having trouble achieving orgasm. The pain of infertility can enter the deepest part of your being and stay there. The many tests and medical procedures you may undergo, exposing the most intimate aspects of your lives, can try your patience and strain your marriage.

request an appointment

Recent studies by Harvard University researchers show that many people experience depression, isolation, anxiety and feelings of not being in control when they are undergoing treatment for fertility challenges. These same studies also show that therapy can greatly reduce symptoms of distress.

In many parts of the world, infertility counseling is a specialty field with very specific training and certification requirements, but not in the US. Here, any mental health professional can claim they are an “infertility counselor.” Dr. Sara has advanced training, as a board-certified clinical health psychologist, and has been helping infertile couples for over 30 years. To learn more about how infertility counseling can help you, click one of the links below:

Infertility counseling can help you cope with:

  • The pain of longing for a child
  • Feeling that life is unfair
  • Feeling envy toward pregnant friends
  • Feelings of grief & loss
  • Feelings of isolation & detachment

Couples counseling can help you:

  • Keep your marriage on track
  • Keep sex fun & fulfilling
  • Enhance support & understanding
  • Honor differences in how men & women cope

Click here to Schedule an Appointment, or call (866) 337-4911 for more information. We welcome patients from Cary, Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh, Georgetown, DC and surrounding communities.