Cycles of Dreams and Despair: a two part webinar series on working therapeutically with fertility issues and reproductive loss

How will the webinar work? 

This will be a two-part webinar that will be available for participants to join live. However, if you can't make one or both of the live dates, all registrants will be sent a recording of both webinars so you can catch up on the sessions. The live sessions will take place: 

• Part 1 (Cycles of Dreams and Despair: working therapeutically with fertility issues and reproductive loss) - Wednesday 30th April 2025, 11.30am - 1pm
• Part 2 (Loving the Longed for Child: Pregnancy and Parenting after infertility and pregnancy loss)  - Wednesday 4th June 2025, 11.30am - 1pm 

What are these webinars about? 

Part 1 of this webinar series is about working therapeutically with fertility issues and reproductive loss. Almost 1 in 6 couples struggle with fertility issues in the UK today. As perinatal psychologists, we have historically focussed on the perinatal period as defined as starting from conception to 1 year post birth. But with the establishment of NHS Maternal Mental Health Services and care pathways for bereavement and trauma, we are increasingly called on to support individuals and couples whilst they are still struggling to conceive or dealing with repeated reproductive losses. A recent survey by Fertility Network UK (2021) also underlines the increase in parents-to-be using ART, donor conception and surrogacy to create or expand their families. Offering psychological support to individuals and couples during this period requires us to be more flexible as professionals.  

By attending part 1 of the series, participants will:  

• Consider the psychological impacts of infertility and reproductive loss on the individual and couple;
• Explore what assisted reproduction actually entails, including donor conception and surrogacy;
• Look at how pre-existing psychological issues may re-emerge at this time;
• Learn about specific fertility related psychological concepts such as 'reproductive trauma' (Jaffe & Diamond, 2011), mazing (Sandelowski, 1989) and the Phases of Infertility Model (Diamond et al, 1999); and
• Think about how typical presenting issues may require different psychological interventions e.g. narrative approaches, listening skills, holding, stabilisation; and
• Have space to think of the impact of this work on you as practitioners, as well as ways of managing this.  

Part 2 of this webinar series focuses on pregnancy and parenthood after infertility and pregnancy loss. Even for those who become parents, pregnancy may still be a very fraught experience, and expectations of the postpartum period may not be immediately realised. Pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, bonding and attachment and other postpartum experiences may also fall short of what parents have imagined. Parents may need to mourn and learn to let go of the 'reproductive story' (Diamond & Jaffe, 2011)  

By attending part 2 of the series, participants will:  

• Consider the psychological impacts of infertility (primary and secondary) and reproductive loss on parental experiences of pregnancy and parenting; 
• Re-evaluate common expectations around parent -infant bonding and attachment for those pregnant and parenting after infertility; 
• Explore how different paths to parenthood may affect parental identity; 
• Look at how psychological issues may emerge at this time for individuals and couples;
• Learn about specific psychological concepts linked to parenthood after infertility such as the ''penumbra baby' (Reid, 2007), pregnancy intendedness vs pregnancy preparedness (McMahon, 1999) and matresence after infertility (Athan, 2024);
• Think about how typical presenting issues may require different psychological interventions e.g. narrative approaches, listening skills, holding, stabilisation; and 
• Have space to think of the impact of this work on you as practitioners, as well as ways of managing this.  

Want to speak to one of the team? Contact us at [email protected]