Janet E. Mueller, Psy.D.

Infertility Counseling

The greatest satisfaction that I have gotten as a therapist is to hear that an infertility patient, who I have counseled is pregnant.  As far as I am concerned there is no greater gift.  I offer individual and support groups for infertility patients. I have been in charge of Resolve’s Long Island support group for a number of years.  This is a national infertility organization.

I believe that having a thorough understanding of the issues that an infertility patient may encounter has made it possible to be helpful in this arena.

The approach I take with my fertility patients first begins with an assessment of their psychosocial situation.  What are their coping resources like?  Is this the first crisis that they have experienced?  How long have they experienced infertility?  Have they gotten into a cycle of frustration and despair, which has become almost impossible to break out of?  

When working with infertility patients, I have found cognitive behavioral therapy to be very affective in addressing certain issues.  Cognitive behavioral therapy is based on the premise that thoughts feelings and behaviors are connected.  Thoughts or feelings can often reinforce faulty beliefs.  Faulty beliefs can result in problematic behaviors that can affect numerous life areas. For example, an infertility patient who has experienced numerous unsuccessful cycles may adapt a set of faulty core beliefs.  As a therapist, I try and assess the infertility patient’s core beliefs and help restructure their cognitions.

Another very important series of tools which I have successfully used with infertility patients is called mind/body techniques.  These techniques are meant to reduce the great deal of stress that the infertility patient is normally exposed to.  Techniques that I teach my infertility patients are mindfulness meditation, guided imagery, and progressive muscle relaxation.

My approach to counseling infertility patients is based on many years of experience.  Each patient is viewed and assessed individually.

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