Why are infertile patients not using psychosocial counselling?

The purpose of this study was to examine the sources of support that infert ile patients relied on when distressed, and the factors that prevented them from using psychosocial counselling. The sample consisted of 143 infertile patients (49 couples plus 45 additional women) who were in their mid-thirt ies and had been infertile for approximately 6 years. Before their clinic a ppointment, participants completed (anonymously) a short questionnaire conc erning various sources of support and factors related to the uptake of coun selling. The results showed that patients relied primarily on their spouse and family when distressed, rather than on formal support resources such as psychosocial counselling, The principal reason preventing patients from us ing counselling varied as a function of current distress level. Less distre ssed patients reported that the coping resources available to them were suf ficient to cope with the strains of infertility, while the more distressed patients failed to initiate contact with a counsellor because of practical concerns such as knowing who to contact and/or the cost of counselling. The findings of this study indicate that alternative ways of intervening with infertile patients would need to be developed, as few use the type of psych osocial services most frequently offered.