Psychological advice on assisted reproduction treatments

Assisted reproduction treatments have traditionally received more attention from a medical point of view. The great advance that is changing the lives of millions of people around the world who have been battling infertility for 25 years. Although the emotional component of what the process implies has gone unnoticed. The vast majority of Patients suffering from infertility suffer from psychological symptoms of anxiety and depression. From the first visit to the specialist, almost half of the patients usually report mental symptoms. These can become very uncomfortable and affect the success of the treatment more or less directly. For example, if a woman feels depressed, she is more likely to stop treatment, even though her doctor has given her optimistic prospects of success. That is derived from this Importance of psychological counseling in assisted reproduction treatments.

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We are talking about psychological therapy in assisted reproduction

Psychologists can act as the mental health professionals that we are Counselors or psychotherapists in an assisted reproduction departmentif you meet the necessary educational and professional requirements. We do great work for people with reproductive problems. A good psychologist manifests itself Sensitivity, empathy and understanding in such a delicate situation. Patients can find the support they need to improve their coping skills and deal better with the situation.

In addition, as we have commented in previous posts, according to various research, learning strategies to manage stress in fertility treatment can help increase the chances of pregnancy and conception.

There are situations where Process of assisted reproduction, considered the fundamental support and intervention of the psychologist. One of these pre-pregnancy situations is genetic counseling, given the multiple emotional implications it entails:

He genetic counseling It is a process that informs patients and their families that they have or are at risk of a genetic disease. Provides information to make the reproductive decision to proceed with adequate knowledge Cause and Probability Risk they have.

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In these cases, and after pregnancy problems have arisen, the psychologist helps to find out what the personal history of the patient and her partner was, as well as their personality and the impact this had on their life history. According to Gordillo (2008) they exist psychological interventions with scientific rigor that allow us to know the different emotional pathsis chosen by the patient. Here we briefly explain three:

• life crisis: The goal is that person restore its previous function, provided an emotional support space for approximately 5 sessions. The necessary techniques are offered individually.
• Advice: The goal is to find the Main problem of every patient to explore different congruent alternatives with the principles of the patient. The Therapist supports in decision-making, the development of duels or in the construction of new ways of looking at life. Approximately 25 sessions are typically required, depending on the speed set by the patient. In addition, the therapist may direct therapy in a more or less direct way, depending on the case. Various techniques are used in this type of intervention, such as interfering with the couple’s relationship, introducing changes to recover the perfidious illusion (Beck, 1990; O’Connor, 1990).
• psychotherapy: The goal varies depending on the “focus” of the work and the specific model followed by the therapist. May beinterpret and reposition the patient’s experiences and your partner to resolve your conflict. The therapist needs to recognize the values ​​the patient has with himself and with others. The number of sessions varies depending on the therapy contract.