Treatments & Services

Counselling & Support

At Flinders Fertility, a professionally qualified counsellor is available to offer confidential support during times that can be emotionally demanding. We strongly believe in caring for your emotional health and well-being, which is why counselling services to support you through your journey are free of cost for Flinders Fertility patients.

Our experienced and qualified counsellors, Julie Potts & Emma Angel provide professional and individualised counselling. Both Julie and Emma understand how emotionally demanding this situation can be and can assist you in total confidence.

Decision making

If you are weighing up the different treatment options you may find it helpful to have a confidential chat with one of our Counsellors to reflect and review your feelings about how to proceed. You may want to discuss how your treatment fits in with your other goals, or, you may be wondering how long you wish to pursue treatment and find it helpful to talk this over with the counsellor.

Counselling for change

There are times when all the waiting, trying and uncertainty about the future can feel overwhelming. Making clear what is normal stress or grief, the causes of pressure and how to deal with it all, can help in difficult times. You may not be mindful of the personal resources that you possess, and counselling helps you to identify these strengths so that you can apply them in this set of circumstances. We all carry understandings that have evolved from our past experiences. Some of these will support you in facing the challenges posed by elusive fertility and others may be less helpful.

Therapeutic counselling may assist you in distinguishing the understandings that support your resilience from those that add an unnecessary emotional burden - then give you some tools to focus on the former while diminishing the presence of the latter. Similarly, you may have noticed differences in perceptions between you and your partner that influence the ways you each manage emotionally challenging events. Counselling is a resource available to each of you individually or together that may assist you in navigating these and negotiating to resolve the differences.

Non-genetic parenting

People considering parenting with the assistance of donor sperm or donor eggs are required to meet with a Flinders Fertility Counsellor to consider the implications of third-party conception for you as an individual, for your relationship, if relevant, and for your donor-conceived child.

Debriefing sessions

There may be times when you just feel it would be helpful to debrief by recapping the experience to date. This is a way of acknowledging yourself, and your strengths and honouring your feelings in a safe, non-judgmental place.

Information

You may want to gather information about support groups, adoption and fostering status or how others have dealt with different issues or decisions. If stress is a concern for you the counsellor can discuss a variety of relaxation options, planning techniques and other resources you may find helpful.

Support

We do understand that it can be very difficult living among others who are not challenged by fertility issues and who may have a limited understanding of this experience. You may just want to talk with someone who understands the ups and downs of fertility treatment or pregnancy loss.