Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T11:07:30.626Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 24 - Walking the Tightrope: The Pregnant Fertility Counselor

from V - Special Topics in Fertility Counseling

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2022

By
Laura Covington  and
Janet Jaffe
Edited by
Sharon N. Covington
Sharon N. Covington
Affiliation:
Shady Grove Fertility, Rockville, MD
Get access

Summary

Counseling patients through their journey to conceive can be challenging. When a therapist becomes pregnant, the therapeutic alliance alters.This chapter explores the unique dynamics between the pregnant fertility counselor and reproductive clients. Questions around the “who, what, where, when, why and how” of pregnancy disclosure are used as a tool to help think about the various elements to the therapeutic alliance. Intense feelings can be triggered for a patient who is struggling with infertility or pregnancy loss, but can also trigger emotional reactions for the fertility counselor. The transference and countertransference that arises with the self-disclosure of a pregnancy is likely to unfold complicated dynamics and emotions. The positive and negative implications that a pregnancy disclosure can have from the patient’s point of view, as well as that of the therapist, are addressed. Additionally, the postpartum experience and the return back to work after parental leave are also discussed. While this chapter focuses on the pregnant therapist, the issues raised pertain to all pregnant reproductive medical staff treating infertility patients.

Keywords

pregnant therapistfertility counselorinfertilitypregnancyclinicianreproductive storyself-disclosurecountertransferencetransferenceparental leave
Type
Chapter
Information
Fertility Counseling: Clinical Guide , pp. 245 - 254
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Jaffe, J, Diamond, MO. Reproductive Trauma: Psychotherapy with Infertility and Pregnancy Loss Clients. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2011.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayes, JA, Gelso, CJ, Hummel, AM. Managing countertransference. Psychother 2011;48;88–97.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ulman, KH. Unwitting exposure of the therapist: transferential and countertransferential dilemmas. J Psychother Pract Res 2001;10:14–22.Google Scholar
Derlaga, VJ, Berg, JH, Eds. Self-disclosure: Theory, Research, and Therapy. New York, NY: Kluwer Academic/ Plenum, 1987.Google Scholar
Fallon, AE, Brabender, V. Awaiting the Therapist’s Baby: A Guide for Expectant Parent-practitioners. New York, NY: Psychology Press, 2003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolfe, E. The therapist’s pregnancy and the client–therapist relationship: an exploratory study. Doctoral Dissertation, Smith College School for Social Work, 2013.Google Scholar
Waldman, J. New mother/old therapist: transference and countertransference challenges in the return to work. Am J Psychother 2003;57(1):52–63.Google Scholar
Schmidt, FMD, Fiorini, GP, Ramires, VRR. Psychoanalytic psychotherapy and the pregnant therapist: a literature review. Res Psychother 2015;18(2):50–61.Google Scholar
Redlinger‐Grosse, K. Countertransference: making the unconscious conscious. In Veach, PM, LeRoy, BS, Callanan, NP, Eds. Genetic Counseling Practice. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Blackwell, 2020, 153–175.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Colarusso, CA. The third individuation: the effect of biological parenthood on separation-individuation processes in adulthood. Psyc Study Child 1990;45:179–194.Google Scholar
Arnett, JJ. Emerging Adulthood. Amer Psych 2000;55:469–480.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Peterson, ZD. More than a mirror: the ethics of therapist self-disclosure. Psychother 2002;39:21–31.Google Scholar
Brody, LS. The fifth trimester: the working mom’s guide to style, sanity, and big success after baby. Broadway, NY: Doubleday Books, 2017.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×