Couples Undergoing Infertility Treatment: Implications for Counselors

This review examines the current literature regarding infertility counseling as it applies to clinical practice. Although there have been several excellent studies and articles published within the past few years, including ones in this journal, the references to a case study here adds another dimension to the literature. The author describes a case of a couple who is referred to counseling by the clinic performing the in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Current issues that family counselors face such as reactions to infertility, differences between male and female reactions, parenting after successful IVF treatment, reactions to unsuccessful treatment, and the role of counseling and psychotherapy are discussed.