Therapy for Fertility Challenges
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Therapy for Fertility Challenges *
Are you struggling with infertility or pregnancy loss?
Is the process of trying to conceive not going as smooth as you hoped?
Are you needing support while you're in the thick of infertility treatment?
Does the reproductive trauma seem to take over your life these days?
Are you looking for a fertility counselor who just gets it?
We understand the complexities of fertility as well as the grief and trauma that comes with it. You deserve support as you go through this difficult journey.
Fertility Challenges
Difficulties around family building can have a significant impact on your mental health. Most of us come to trying for a baby thinking that soon enough we will fall pregnant and expand our family. But, at least 1 in 6 navigate infertility and 1 in 4 experience pregnancy loss. So, while experiencing fertility issues isn’t all that uncommon, it is spoken about so rarely.
Your focus on growing your family is important- and when you get hit with fertility issues, you feel it in big ways. Whether it be primary or secondary infertility, pregnancy loss, going through fertility treatment, or struggling with the process of trying to get pregnant before getting any fertility related diagnosis- you need support.
It is normal during this time to struggle with mental health, feel anxious, depressed, traumatized, disconnected from yourself, as well as disconnected from your partner or support system. This process can feel overwhelming, confusing, and isolating. We are here to help you hold space for it all and connect to the healing resources that you need.
How Infertility & Loss Impact Mental Health
Loss of Control
Navigating infertility or pregnancy loss can feel like a major test in letting go of control. If you are trying to grow your family, your focus is understandably very centered on that goal. You may be doing everything “right”, but finding yourself completely powerless in regards to the most important thing to you right now.
Compounding Ambiguous Grief
Whether you have experienced pregnancy loss, numerous cycles without a positive result, failed treatment cycles, or disappointing news around your fertility- you are experiencing grief and loss in ways that many cannot understand. Each month that passes by without a baby in your arms continues to hit at grief, and you may feel like those around you just don’t get it.
Relationship Strain
Fertility challenges can have significant impacts on your relationship with your partner, your family, and your friends. You and your partner are putting so much energy into a goal that feels farther and farther away- it’s understandable that you may be feeling disconnected, distant, or tense with one another. And on top of it, the family and friends who you once may have been able to count on might not understand the kind of support you need. You may be feeling isolated in your pain as others seem to be able to move forwards in their own families.
Loss of Identity
If becoming a parent or growing your family is a major focus of yours, you may be feeling disconnected to yourself during this time. Something that you’ve envisioned as a certainty for so long now feels like a major question mark. You’re figuring out how to move forwards without knowing if, when, or how you’ll be able to grow your family.
Emotional and Physical Impacts
Any major life transition has an impact on our physical and mental health- navigating fertility challenges is no different. It is common for those going through infertility or pregnancy loss to experience anxiety, depression, or other mental health symptoms. You may also be feeling the physical impacts of stress, difficulty sleeping, or challenges around the physical changes that come with each cycle. For those going through fertility treatment, you are likely experiencing significant emotional and physical impacts each step of the way.
Fertility issues can have a significant impact on your life and mental health, and you deserve support through this process. When you work with a therapist who specializes in fertility challenges, you get to have the support and understanding from someone who truly gets the process.
Fertility counseling can help you hold space for your story and your experience. While you may not have many spaces in life to truly process what you've gone through, in therapy- your story matters. We will honor the grief, loss, uncertainty, overwhelm, and all of the other emotions that you may be experiencing.
As it makes sense that you may be struggling to cope during this process, we will also equip you with coping skills, tools for self-care, and communication skills so that you can not only hold space for yourself during this time- but also reach out for support from those who are there for you. This time can feel traumatic and can come with significant mental health impacts, so having support as well as coping skills can be essential for your fertility journey.
In fertility counseling, there is space for you to explore your treatment options without fear of judgement or someone else pushing you in any direction. Whether or not you decide to pursue infertility treatment, we will support the choices that you feel most connected to.
If you do go through fertility treatment, you'll get to process your experience with someone who gets it. We can help you to connect to different self-care practices to not only help you get through treatment cycles, but also feel connected to them. You deserve a trusted fertility counselor to be a part of your fertility team.
Infertility Counseling in Minnesota
We Offer a Special Connection Between Trauma Informed Care and Fertility Counseling
All of our therapists also specialize in trauma therapy- that means whoever you work with will understand how your challenges with fertility can feel traumatic. Not only will your journey in therapy help you navigate this difficult season of life, but it will also help you to process and heal the trauma you may be going through.
Healing these experiences of trauma helps best equip us for the next seasons of life. Whatever the future holds, you will have resources and tools to be present in your life and with yourself.
What Therapy for Infertility or Pregnancy Loss Looks Like at Minnesota Attachment Collective?
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These will vary for everyone depending on their experience, but some common focuses in therapy for infertility or pregnancy loss are:
Process your experience: Your story matters. Together, we’ll hold space for both the experiences you’ve had along your fertility journey as well as past experiences that may be showing up for you. We value making sure you feel seen, heard, and supported every step of the way.
Build coping skills + nervous system regulation skills: This can be an extremely stressful time. Exploring your emotions as well as building coping skills as well as skills to help you regulate your nervous system can make a big difference- both emotionally and physically.
Build your support system: For many, this time can feel very isolating- but is a time that needs so much support. We can help you identify who your best support people are, how to communicate your emotions and needs, and how to build new supports where necessary.
Gain confidence in yourself: Going through fertility challenges can fuel self-doubt and feelings of low self-worth. In therapy, we can help you build confidence in your values, goals, as well as your inherent worth as a human.
Navigate difficult decisions and next steps: Fertility challenges often come with many questions and decisions around next steps. We can support you as you process your options and make the choices that feel best for you and your family.
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This can vary greatly from person to person as everyone’s experience is different. Some may feel relief after a few months just being able to process their experience and build skills. Others may benefit from therapy in the longterm- throughout their fertility journey and into parenthood if that is the next step for them. We generally recommend beginning therapy at a weekly frequency so that we can really dig into the work and support you best.
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You can learn all about our current rates here! Please note that we are an out-of-network practice, meaning we do not directly work with insurance. You can find more information about that in the link above.
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Absolutely! Working on the couple relationship as well as getting support from your partner can make all the difference during this time. Some come to therapy for individual work but enjoy bringing their partner in for some sessions as needed, while others focus solely on couples work during this time. You can discuss these options with your therapist to find what works best.
We are here to help.
We understand how challenging infertility and loss can be. We are here to help you hold space for your experience and connect to the healing that you need.
Work with a fertility therapist who gets it
Kayla Estenson Williams is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Perinatal Mental Health Certified Therapist (PMH-C) as well as Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP). She has advanced trainings in supporting folks through fertility challenges and has her own personal experience with infertility and fertility treatments. She knows how challenging this time can be and is passionate about supporting folks through it. You can learn more about Kayla here!
Support Through an Inclusive Lens
We want to make sure that you feel seen and heard, have space for healing, and are able to connect to yourself and your support system in meaningful ways. We know that families can be comprised in a number of different ways, and so we make sure that our care is welcoming to partnerships of all genders and sexual orientations, polyamorous partnerships, as well as single parent families.
Are you ready to hold space for healing? We would be honored to get to be a part of your process.
Let’s work together.
Get support through your experience of infertility, pregnancy loss, or fertility treatment today. For those located in the Twin Cities, we have in-person therapy sessions available in Eagan, Minnesota. We also have virtual therapy sessions available to anyone who lives in Minnesota.