ABSTRACT

Working with Infertility and Grief: A Practical Guide for Helping Professionals explores issues of grief, including disenfranchised grief and chronic sorrow, related to infertility and reproductive loss. Out of the small handful of books related to this topic, this is the first of its kind geared toward equipping helping professionals who assist those grieving unrecognized losses. Written through the lens of the literary framework of The Hero’s Journey, this comprehensive practitioner guide directly targets mental health professionals working with clients, supervisees, or students who have experienced infertility, miscarriage, or death of an infant. This book is also for those who experienced it themselves. Readers will learn more about the crisis of infertility and reproductive loss, gain insight into the experience of those suffering, and acquire practical tools and strategies for helping and healing. This text is broad enough to be integrated into a course for a graduate program and specific enough to serve as a shelf reference for those in practice.

chapter |16 pages

Introduction

What Is the Hero's Journey?

part One|55 pages

The Biopsychosocial Crisis of Infertility

chapter Chapter One|6 pages

The Diagnosis

So, You Can't Have a Baby: What's the Big Deal?

chapter Chapter Two|18 pages

Biological Impacts of Infertility

My Body Betrayed Me

chapter Chapter Three|15 pages

Psychological Impacts of Infertility

A Mind That Questions and a Heart That Hurts

chapter Chapter FOUR|14 pages

Social Impacts of Infertility

One Is the Loneliest Number

part Two|73 pages

Who Suffers from Infertility?

chapter Chapter Five|7 pages

Aging and Infertility

TICK, TICK, TICK … Is That My Biological Clock?

chapter Chapter Six|15 pages

Non-Age-Related Infertility

I'm Still a Spring Chicken, So Where Are My Chicks?

chapter Chapter Seven|13 pages

Femininity and Social Implications

Who Am I If I'm Not a Mother?

chapter Chapter Eight|9 pages

Male Factor Infertility

Dude, Am I Shooting Blanks?

chapter Chapter Nine|12 pages

Personal Choices in Growing a Nontraditional Family

Will You Stop Asking Me About Children?

chapter Chapter Ten|15 pages

Multicultural Considerations

Is Infertility an Equal Opportunity Condition?

part Three|58 pages

Strategies and Suggestions for the Helping Professional

chapter Chapter Eleven|20 pages

A Plan of Action for the Clinician

Finding Happily Ever After

chapter Chapter Twelve|13 pages

Working with Individuals, Partners, and Families

The Cast of Characters

chapter Chapter Thirteen|15 pages

The Clinical Supervisor's Role

Guiding the Hero's Journey

chapter Chapter Fourteen|8 pages

Counselor Educator Wisdom

The Sage