Fertility counselling and coaching

Deciding to start fertility treatment can be an extremely emotional time. This can impact your own mental health as well as relationships with a partner, family members and friends. Often it can feel like nobody understands what you are going through and you can feel alone in your feelings and experiences.

At our Assisted Conception Unit, we believe your emotional support for fertility patients is priority.

Counselling is an integral part of all our fertility treatments and we encourage you to see our counselling and coaching teams. There are many ways to access support, before, during and after treatment.

Fertility counselling

Counselling can provide a space and opportunity to explore feelings, coping strategies, options and relationship issues. Counsellors can help to identify emotions and feelings around fertility that can be hard to put into words, so you feel supported and able to decide the right fertility treatment for you.

Confidential counselling sessions are provided by our specialist team with a wealth of experience and expertise. As a trained professional, your counsellor understands what is involved in your treatment and offers you the time to talk over your options or concerns. It is available for everyone who is accessing services at our Assisted Conception Unit, and sessions can be arranged for individuals or couples.

Counselling is available for emotional support, psychosexual counselling or other issues relating to fertility treatment such as patients using donor sperm or eggs, surrogacy, surgical sperm retrieval or fertility preservation.

Fertility coaching

Coaching is provided by one of our qualified coaches and clinical embryologists. They provide support to patients who would like to understand their treatment better. You will need to make decisions at various stages in your treatment; coaching is designed to help you feel better prepared and more confident about your next steps. Sessions are confidential, non-judgemental and entirely tailored to your specific needs or concerns. A maximum of three sessions are available to each individual or couple.

Coaching sessions of 50 minutes are booked to fit in with appropriate stages of your treatment and a maximum of three sessions are available to each individual or couple. Whilst coaching sessions are included as part of treatment packages, this is a limited service and we cannot guarantee availability.

However, you can book a 20 minute introductory session to find out if this is a suitable option for you.

Please note that coaching is not suitable if you are having counselling or waiting for a counselling appointment.

Our team can also give you information about where to find alternative external support and the contact details of organisations that offer individual, group and online support.