You can come and talk about anything that is troubling you while you are planning, undergoing, or have had fertility treatment at the Edinburgh Fertility Centre. The service offers emotional support before, during or after, what can be a stressful time. Problems with relationships, fear of treatment outcome, pain of loss and crisis of meaning are some of the issues people bring. Often it is helpful to simply talk through the treatment and look at options for the future with support and understanding. The aim of counselling is to encourage people to find their own solutions in a safe and supportive space.
If you are considering storing sperm, eggs or embryos for later use, or treatment using donated sperm, eggs or embryos, you will be asked to attend counselling to discuss the implications of you treatment. This special kind of counselling is called “implications counselling”.
There are two counsellors in our Fertility Centre, Ruth Phillips and Jocelyn Proctor. Both are members of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and British Infertility Counselling Association (BICA).
You can refer yourself for counselling by asking any of the nurses or doctors to arrange an appointment for you or by phoning 0131 242 2441/3/6.
Confidentiality
The counsellor records brief notes following each session. These notes are for the counsellor’s use only. They are confidential and are kept securely, in a place only the counsellors can access and are destroyed after a number of years. They are kept separately from your fertility patient record and the only thing the counsellor records in your fertility record is that you have attended for support. If you have attended for “implications counselling” (relating to treatment with fertility preservation or donor sperm/eggs/embryos), the counsellor is required to write a report confirming the relevant points have been discussed. You can also refer to the NHS Lothian Data Protection Notice about how and why we store information.
Counselling sessions are confidential and specific details of your discussion with the counsellor will not be passed to other members of the team. There are two scenarios where the counsellor may consider sharing of additional information with medical team responsible for your fertility treatment.
- The HFEA’s Welfare of the Child Assessment is an important aspect of fertility counselling. If a member of the team has concerns, they may refer you for counselling and request a report back from the counsellor. The counsellor will always inform you at the beginning of the session that a report has been requested. During any session, the counsellor may deem it necessary to pass on relevant information under the same Welfare of the Child policy. Our counsellors have a duty of care to any child or children (even a potential child or children), and are obliged to pass on concerns with their safety and wellbeing.
- Another important aspect of fertility counselling is monitoring your psychological wellbeing. This means that if you display signs that you may harm yourself or others, then the counsellor will be obliged to report their concerns for your own safety, or the safety of others. In this case, the counsellor will make every attempt to discuss this with you first, gain your permission, and outline to you what they need to share with the team responsible for your fertility treatment, or other health professionals such as your GP or psychiatrist. Counsellors’ reports such as these are filed in your medical record.
Patient Feedback
Your feedback matters as it helps us to improve our service and provide the best possible care. You can complete a paper feedback form at any stage during your counselling or you can use the form below and submit your response electronically.
