Management of the psychosocial aspects of infertility

There is a growing recognition of the place and importance of psychosocial factors in the infertility field. Counsellors, social workers, psychologists and others who work with the psychosocial dimensions are of relatively recent origin and as a consequence it is not uncommon for there to be confusion, sometimes conflict and often uncertainty between them and the more established health professionals. Knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the contributions of the staff involved is essential if the referral process is to be beneficial for the patients and less frustrating for the staff. Against this backdrop, the paper will seek to clarify some of the factors associated with recognizing and responding to the psychosocial aspects of infertility, highlight some points concerning teamwork between doctors and workers in the psychosocial field, and finally present a list of indicators which might be used as a guide in determining when to make a referral for psychosocial assistance.