Psychosomatic couple counseling before assisted reproduction

Couples who would like children but have not been able to achieve pregnancy hope, almost exclusively, that their wish can be fulfilled by reproductive medical techniques. In the discussion of the application and development o f reproductive techniques the experience of the actual people involved has been pushed to the back. Help other than medical treatment is often not req uested until these individuals are exhausted from the unsuccessful attempts or they are very disappointed. In the initial counseling appointment of people seeking assisted reproducti on the problem of not having children should be approached from the medical and psychological perspective. Psychosomatic counseling should identify th e individual psychosocial influences and elucidate how a woman experiences her childlessness, and independently thereof, how a man experiences this, a nd define the significance of this on the psychodynamics of the relationshi p. The differences between how these men and women cope with this emotional ly should be presented. An integrative approach should include this initial session, a time of emotional preparation for treatment and team supervisio n.