Tuesday 31 December 2013

Why do I counsel my infertility patients?

Why do I counsel my infertility patients?

Well, truly speaking a lot of my energy goes in the process of counseling my patients. People sometimes feel strange about it. Why counseling plays such a critical role in resolving infertility issues when it is a physical problem?

In reality infertility problem is not a physical problem completely, but involves a lot of mental and emotional aspect. Therefore, infertility experts have to put great amount of time, energy and resources in counseling the patients and keeping their morale level high.

In some cases, the couples are so frustrated that they do not have belief in the process of infertility treatment. In such cases, we call expert counselors that use psychological techniques to regain the faith level. Regular sessions improve the situation and the clinical procedures can be resumed. Counseling is an integral part of the treatment and hence, can’t be overlooked.

I categorize counseling process broadly in the following categories:

Emotional Counseling

It is the most important aspect. Infertile couples undergo a tough time. The moments of frustration and stress are unbearable. Men and women perceive infertility problem in a different way and the perception is entirely different. Therefore, I counsel both separately and then together to understand the common pain points. In some cases, it is needed to take professional assistance from professional counselors. I arrange individual sessions or joint sessions depending on the severity of the case.

Couples discuss their concerns, sorrows, doubts and worries about the problem. They discuss the probable cause and remedy of their problems. Couples find it extremely encouraging and exciting experience that recharges their spirits to overcome the problem.

Physical counseling

There are various cases where the couples are unaware about the reproduction system and its functionality. As an infertility expert, I counsel them to explain the human reproductive system and the exact problem they are facing. I explain the mechanism of various tests and the outcome to them.

Financial counseling

It may sound strange, but I spend considerable time on the financial counseling part. Infertility treatment is a costly affair and not all patients can pay higher fees for the treatment. However, a few offers reduce the overall cost to make it affordable.

Community counseling

When the infertile couple comes to me for infertility problems, I always counsel them to form community groups and support groups. While the modern special networking tools offer brilliant platform to do so, the conventional methods of forming support groups is equally effective idea. It is important to bring a feeling of self-confidence in the infertile couples. By making communities, the infertile couples realize that there are many people who are sailing in the same boat.

It is surely a physical, mental and emotional turmoil to go through a phase of infertility. When I treat infertility problem, it is not just treating the physiological aspect, but the mental aspect as well.

Counseling is, therefore, incredibly important in resolving the issue completely. I train the patients to leverage the strengths to boost the chances of a successful pregnancy!

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