Assessment & Consultation
Fertility-Related Psychological Services
Presurgical Psychological Evaluations
Psychological Assessment
| Fertility-Related Psychological Services |
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Modern biotechnology has made possible previously unimaginable medical achievements and brought the joy of parenthood to many. Still, these procedures can raise emotional and ethical questions that deserve careful consideration. Discussing your decisions with a psychologist experienced with fertility-related issues can help you formulate your goals, identify the best way to reach them, and give you mental clarity and peace of mind.
Psychological Evaluations
I perform psychological evaluations of egg donors and gestational carriers (surrogates) following the guidelines established by the American Society of Reproductive Medicine. These evaluations consist of a clinical interview and psychological testing. In addition to assessing the readiness of these candidates, I also work with them to answer their questions and address any concerns they may have.
I also provide psychological counseling to intended parents who are using egg donors or surrogates. These sessions are primarily educative, but also provide an opportunity to take stock of the parents' fertility journey. Most people experience the session(s) as a valuable and validating opportunity for reflection and clarification of thoughts and feelings.
Fertility-Related Counseling: Loss, Grief, and Moving Forward
The experience of not conceiving a child can stir up a wide range of feelings, including disappointment, frustration, anger, shame, and helplessness. It is extremely stressful and unfortunately that stress can sometimes exacerbate fertility problems. Learning stress management techniques can provide you with powerful tools to lower your stress level.
Fertility-related loss can be one of the most painful to experience, and yet it is often hard to find a culturally-acceptable way to grieve. Processing the experience with a professional can allow you to come to terms with painful outcomes, find compassion for painful decisions, and make clear decisions about moving forward.
When embarking on the use of egg donors and/or gestational carriers, it is important to first come to terms with the losses entailed (such as having less of a biological connection to the child) so as to be able to most enjoy the outcome.
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| Presurgical Psychological Evaluations |
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Doctors working with patients in need of major surgery (for chronic conditions such as back pain and obesity) often request a pre-surgical evaluation to asses the patient's readiness for surgery and potential need for pre- or post-surgical counseling. Research has shown that the success of many surgeries often relates to factors assessed in a psychological evaluation.
The pre-surgical evaluation consists of a one-hour interview in which the client is asked to describe their family, educational, and career history, and to discuss their thoughts and feelings about their medical condition and the proposed surgical procedure. They are also asked to complete some psychological testing. The results of this evaluation are communicated to the referring doctor and are available to the client upon request. Most people experience the evaluation as a valuable and validating opportunity for reflection and clarification of thoughts and feelings.
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| Psychological Assessment |
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I offer psychological assessment of individuals, couples, and families to investigate personality, intellectual, and career functioning. I conduct my assessments using an approach called therapeutic assessment. The hallmark of therapeutic assessment is that it is collaborative: the client and the psychologist work together to answer the client's questions using psychological tests. The idea is that an assessment procedure itself can be therapeutic when conducted this way, and research studies back this up.
Therapeutic assessment can be useful on its own, or it can bring new life or direction to an ongoing therapeutic relationship. It also may provide an excellent starting point for a new therapeutic relationship. When the client is working with other therapists, we include these professionals in the therapeutic assessment procedure (e.g., by inviting them to ask questions of the assessment and by including them in the feedback session) to the extent desired by the client.
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