Exceptional healthcare, personally delivered

Counselling Full support for patients before, during and after treatment

Exceptional healthcare, personally delivered

The Counselling Service

The Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine offers independent counselling and employs trained, qualified and experienced specialist fertility counsellors. Counselling is an important requirement of legislation controlling all assisted conception treatments. It is recognised and understood by the HFEA, doctors, nurses and clinicians alike that fertility investigations and treatments can, at times, be highly emotionally challenging and that support for you throughout this process is essential. BCRM therefore provides a free therapeutic counselling service to all patients (both NHS and self funded) as an integral part of your treatment and three counselling sessions are available to you while you are undergoing investigations, and then for every cycle of treatment. If, sadly you are unsuccessful with your treatment and you decide to go for another, you can access a further three sessions of counselling to support you emotionally as you go on. Once you have used your included allocation of free counselling you can have more - but a charge will be made for any additional sessions. You can ask your counsellor about this. The service is available to you as and when you need it, throughout your investigations and treatment and for up to six months after your treatment has finished - whatever the outcome.

Why we endorse the Counselling Service at BCRM

Undergoing fertility investigations and treatment can engender powerful and sometimes overwhelming feelings. Talking things through with an impartial third party who has expertise in this specialist field can be of great benefit. The sessions can help you find ways of coping emotionally, move forward when stuck, make difficult decisions and gain understanding and insight. No one is viewed as being “unable to cope” or “unfit for treatment” if they access the counselling service. In fact, the consultants, doctors and nurses at BCRM recommend that patients seek counselling as a means of getting the emotional support they need in order to better manage the fertility treatment process. Confidentiality Counselling is independent of the medical treatment and is confidential unless the counsellor believes you are a danger to yourself or others, or if there is serious concern about the welfare of any future child (with regard to sexual abuse or physical/psychological harm). In such rare cases the counsellor would discuss this with you first before taking it to medical team.

Experiences associated with fertility difficulties If you recognise any of the feelings or experiences listed below, you might find it helps to talk it through with someone who is impartial and understands: ■■ tearfulness, unable to control emotions ■■ overwhelming feelings of sadness and loss ■■ distress and jealousy when friends, relatives and

colleagues become pregnant ■■ sense of failure and inadequacy, loss of confidence ■■ feeling left out, left behind, isolated, not part of the

mainstream of life ■■ anger, bitterness and frustration at a situation you

cannot control ■■ sex is no longer fun - it’s a baby-making process ■■ loss of identity, purpose, meaning ■■ stress and strain within the relationship and

communication difficulties ■■ sense of being punished, singled out ■■ not able to decide when to stop ■■ being in limbo, life on hold ■■ Earlier feelings of disappointment or loss resurfacing

How counselling works

There is a dedicated counselling room just at the entrance to BCRM where you will meet with one of the counsellors. Counselling sessions last between 50 minutes and one hour, depending on the counsellor. As well as daytime appointments on four days of the week, the counselling service is also available in the late afternoon and early evenings on Wednesday and Friday and on Saturdays during a day session of 10am until 3pm. You can make your own appointment either at the reception desk or by phoning the number on the back. Alternatively your doctor or nurse may refer you and arrange an appointment for you if this is easier. Some people talk to a counsellor regularly while they are going through treatment; others dip in and out as the need arises; some patients have to attend a compulsory implications counselling session as part of their treatment pathway and others see a counsellor for a few sessions to help them get through times of crisis. Counselling is a resource for you to use to help you while you are on your fertility treatment journey. The approach is holistic - each person is seen as a whole, not just as someone who is going through fertility treatment. This means that other aspects of your life may impinge on you and affect how you are coping with the treatment (and vice-versa). These can be talked through in the sessions.

‘

‘

Coming to counselling sessions with my wife has helped me understand how she is feeling and how I can better support her through the process. It has really helped us to communicate with each other and for us to be more aware of each others emotions.

How to make an appointment with one of our counsellors ■■ Ask at the BCRM reception desk ■■ Call the centre on 0117 414 6888 ■■ Finally your doctor or nurse will be able to ensure an

appointment is arranged for you

How to contact us: Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine Southmead Hospital Bristol Westbury-on-Trym BS10 5NB 0117 414 6888



www.bristolivftreatment.co.uk

© North Bristol NHS Trust. This edition published January 2015. Review due January 2017. NBT002602.