Patient Counselling & Support

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Genea’s Fertility Counsellors help patients look after their emotional wellbeing. Counselling sessions may focus on preparing for treatment, making decisions, managing uncertainty and disappointment, and exploring coping strategies. There’s no charge for counselling during your treatment at Genea.

At various times throughout the year our counsellors also run the Mind Your Own Body program online (please note these sessions are on hold until further notice). This is a support group for women trying for their first child at Genea, and assists in the management of stress and loneliness often associated with fertility treatment.

In addition, our counsellors provide mandatory implications counselling for all third-party treatments which include, donor eggs or sperm and surrogacy. More on Genea Fertility Counsellors.

For current patients, more information is available from the Counsellors by calling 1300 361 795 or completing the form below.

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Our Counsellors

Evelyn’s personal experience with infertility was the inspiration for her decision to work in the field of infertility counselling.

Born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, Evelyn completed honours degrees in social work (1978) and in psychology (1983) and worked in child protection services. However, it was her own infertility journey, which began in 1984, that motivated a switch in career direction – a journey which would, over time, encompass many of the challenges facing her current patients such as miscarriage, Clomid, IUI, GIFT, IVF, OHSS and pre-eclampsia.

Her personal experience stirred her so much that, when she and her partner decided to emigrate to Australia, she chose to work exclusively in the field of infertility counselling.

Evelyn feels privileged to be able to accompany her patients on their journey through fertility treatment and beyond, providing support and compassion all along the complex path. She says that her greatest reward is the feeling that she has in some way eased the pain of this road less travelled.

Counselling Services Manager at Genea since 2002, Evelyn’s other great passion is surrogacy. At around the time of Evelyn’s appointment at Genea, the surrogacy program was being relaunched and Evelyn became the primary coordinator for all surrogacy cases. She enjoys assisting couples through this complex and challenging process.

Evelyn was also part of the team that developed and introduced the very popular Mind Your Own Body program at Genea. To this day, she is amazed at the speed at which strangers connect and become invaluable support to one another throughout this valuable program. Her long-term aspiration is to create more similar and fruitful opportunities for her clients.

Evelyn is a member of the Australia New Zealand Infertility Counsellors Association and the Australian Association of Social Workers.

Evelyn is located at Genea Sydney CBD.

Genea Counsellor Jessica Mander Jones - Genea Australia

Jessica is a registered psychologist and holds a master’s degree of Applied Psychology from Macquarie University and an undergraduate Honours Degree from UNSW. She has over 20 years of experience working across a variety of therapeutic settings, including an adolescent team in community mental health, The Cancer Council of NSW and as a psychologist within a tertiary education environment.

Jessica is a warm and compassionate counsellor. She particularly enjoys building a safe and collaborative relationship with her clients and is passionate about supporting individuals and couples to navigate the harder aspects of trying to conceive.

Joining the counselling team at Genea, Jessica is in awe of and inspired by people’s resilience and determination in managing their fertility treatment and believes strongly in providing a collaborative and supportive space to talk about their journey.

Jessica is located at Genea Sydney CBD.

Genea Counsellor Sarah Reid - Genea Australia

Since completing a Bachelor of Social Work at UNSW, Sarah has worked across a variety of fields including health, community, not for profit and EAP (Employee Assistance Program). Sarah has had a particular interest in grief and loss which was introduced to her through her work at St George Hospital working with Oncology and Haematology patients and their families and appreciates how grief and loss play such a big role in patients undertaking fertility treatment.

In recognizing how difficult it can be to create a family naturally, Sarah is overwhelmed by the resilience and empowerment displayed by individuals and couples who want to make their dreams of having a child or children become a reality. Sarah takes an empathic, eclectic approach to counselling and believes that each individual comes with their own narrative to tell and she is eager to listen and support them in their journey.

Sarah is located at Genea Sydney CBD.

Counsellors are available at all clinic locations for Genea patients. Please contact your Genea clinic for details.

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FAQs

How do I register for the Mind Your Own Body Program?

Genea’s Mind Your Own Body program, offered by our counsellors, helps women learn strategies to better manage the anxiety, depression and stress that can result from infertility and its treatment. The program is only open to Genea patients who have not yet had a child and have been through at least one IVF cycle and are planning further treatment. During the program you will:

learn relaxation techniques and ways of challenging the negative thinking that can accompany infertility;
have a chance to talk about your infertility in a supportive environment; and
develop relationships with other women who know how you feel.

The content of the course is based on the work of Alice Domar, director of the The Domar Center for Mind/Body Health in Boston.

There is no charge for this program. The group is now available online in a 3 week program.

How will I know if I need to see a counsellor?

Many patients tell us that when they first began treatment at Genea they didn’t believe they needed or wanted to speak with our counsellors. Some of them say they thought they’d be perceived negatively if they sought help, or that had to be very depressed before talking to a counsellor.

In fact, the reality is that you don’t need to be in an emotional crisis before you seek help and sometimes just being able to talk about your anxieties and feelings can help to normalise them. Many couples choose not to tell family and friends about their treatment which means you can feel quite isolated and alone.

You may discover that you were unprepared for the emotional upheaval infertility brings, and that dealing with disappointment and uncertainty leaves you feeling moody and fragile. While infertility is a medical condition, it can affect every part of your life, challenging the way you feel about yourself, your relationships with others and your self-esteem. You may feel anxious, irritable, angry, sad, isolated and guilty. You can feel a sense of loss of control over your life and your future. Your motivation and sense of purpose in life can be severely challenged, work can seem irrelevant, and slowly you may find yourself feeling consumed by the infertility treatment.
Our counsellors can help you sort through these feelings and identify coping strategies - either in individual or couples counselling sessions. They are also able to talk you through the specifics of your infertility treatment choices and the relevant social and emotional considerations.

We know that men and women cope very differently with their infertility.

For many couples, making the decision to start fertility treatment is not an easy one. It is not unusual for women to feel let down and angry with their bodies and/or for the partner who has been diagnosed with the infertility problem to feel ashamed and guilty.

Men seek understanding of their partner’s distress and ways of helping them. One of the more difficult challenges for men in dealing with infertility is the feeling of helplessness, the inability to fix the problem or make their partner feel better. Some women feel that whatever their partner does, it is not enough because he is not going through the physical side of treatment. Sometimes, talking about your expectations of each other can lead to more understanding and tolerance of your partner’s position.

Talking to someone who is skilled in these areas and knowledgeable about infertility treatment is a positive coping strategy.

What happens in counselling?

Your Genea Counsellor will ask you about your background, your history of infertility, the effects of infertility on you and how you have managed the stresses of infertility to date. The kinds of issues, which often come up for couples include:

dealing with the emotional rollercoaster ride;
coping with other peoples’ pregnancies and children;
how/if to tell family/friends/colleagues;
managing stress;
relationship difficulties with partner, family and/or friends; and
moving towards consideration of other options e.g. egg donation, adoption.

Infertility is often difficult to manage, and is exacerbated when it is prolonged, when there isn’t family or social support at hand, when there are other major stresses in your life, or when you have had other losses. The counsellor’s role is to provide a framework for you to explore your thoughts and feelings, to enhance your coping strategies, and to anticipate and assist in managing IVF treatment stresses.

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