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Infertility Counseling
Before you begin treatment or when you are confronting a complex or emotionally difficult point in your treatment, you may find that professional psychological support is very helpful.
A counselor can facilitate the discussion of emotionally charged topics; help you identify ways to reframe your thinking; and ultimately improve your feeling of well being.
Here is a list of possible issues patients may bring to their sessions:
- Self esteem issues surrounding infertility
- Depression
- Pregnancy loss
- Marital/extended family discord
- Multiple gestations
- Selective reduction
- Use of sperm or egg donors
- Use of a gestational carrier
- Disclosure of third party parenting to future children, family members, friends
- Adoption
PFC has a marriage and family therapist who is a specialist in infertility counseling. She is available to any PFC patient who would like to take advantage of her expertise. We can also provide referrals to other qualified professionals.
Psychological Screening
Peggy Orlin, MFT is a certified Marriage and Family Therapist and is primarily available to discuss issues relating to third party parenting (sperm donor, egg donor and gestational carrier). As previously stated, she is also available to counsel any of our patients as they face the various challenges of infertility.
Ms. Orlin performs the mandatory psychological screening for all our egg donors.
All patients who are contemplating using an egg donor or gestational carrier will meet with her as part of their treatment process.
Marriage and Family Therapist
Peggy Orlin, MFT is a Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in the emotional aspects of infertility, third party family building, and adoption. She has been a therapist for 20 years, a counselor to those experiencing infertility for 12 years and has been affiliated with Pacific Fertility Center for the past 6 years.
A native of Buffalo, New York, Ms. Orlin received a master’s degree from Hofstra University. She moved to the Bay Area in 1978 where she completed her postgraduate training at the Family Therapy Center in San Francisco and at the Marin Psychotherapy Center.
Her personal history of infertility led her to sub specialize in infertility counseling. At Pacific Fertility Center, she has co-led stress reduction class for patients and co-ordinates discussions for staff on ethical issues in reproductive medicine. Her involvement with third party family building includes psychological screening of all involved - donors, recipients and gestational surrogates.
Ms. Orlin’s professional associations include the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, where she is a member of the Executive Committee of the Mental Health Professional Group, and RESOLVE, the national infertility organization. She regularly speaks at conferences on psychological issues pertaining to infertility and gave the keynote address at RESOLVE’S 1995 conference.
She maintains an interest in disclosure and attachment issues that affect individuals and their children involved with ART and adopted children. She is currently writing a book for parents on issues surrounding Third Party Reproduction.
In addition to her infertility counseling, Ms. Orlin enjoys working with families of children who have autistic spectrum disorders, impulse and learning problems and also enjoys working with couples.
In line with her long history of including stress reduction as an adjunct to her fertility counseling, Ms. Orlin has received Mind/Body Teacher Training with Alice Domar, PhD. (Dr. Alice Domar, a pioneer in the development of mind/body programs for infertility.) She is co-teacher of Mind/Body@PFC Weekend Workshop. |
