Please note that all registrations have to be paid in full before the event takes place - otherwise you will miss out on receiving the Zoom link (this is usually sent two days before the event takes place). This event will be recorded for all those who are registered on the day. Recording is available for three weeks – the link will be sent after the event.

The field of fertility counseling is a rapidly growing specialty area in psychotherapy. Every client who enters therapy has a reproductive story and many clinicians are finding more patients presenting with reproductive issues and a complex history of reproductive loss. Whether infertility is in one’s history, occurs during the course of therapy, or is a presenting problem, clinicians need to understand challenges faced by clients who navigate the world of medically assisted reproduction. Since every therapist also carries their own reproductive story into the work, it is important to be aware of countertransference issues that may arise.

This presentation will focus on what therapists need to know about working with clients with fertility issues, ways to provide effective support working through the trauma of reproductive loss, and how to avoid potential pitfalls in countertransference.

Presenter: Sharon Covington, MSW, LCSW-C, BCD

Sharon N. Covington is a Board Certified Diplomat in Clinical Social Work with over 50 years’ experience as an adult psychotherapist and over 40 years providing services in reproductive medical settings. She was a founding member and Director of Psychological Support Services for over 35 years at Shady Grove Fertility, the United States’ largest ART program. In addition, she is an Assistant Clinical Professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and has been an Associate Investigator in the Intramural Research Program on Reproductive and Adult Endocrinology at the National Institutes of Health. She maintains an active private practice with the Center for Reproductive Mental Health (https://centerforreproductivementalhealth.com) and Covington & Hafkin and Associates (https://covingtonandhafkin.com).

Mrs. Covington is internationally recognized and considered a pioneer in the field of reproductive mental health and fertility counseling. She is the co-editor of the first international textbook in the field, Infertility Counseling: A Comprehensive Handbook for Clinicians, (1^st and 2^nd Editions) which is frequently referred to as “The Purple Bible”. She is, also, the editor of Fertility Counseling: Clinical Guide and Case Studies and the most recently published 2^nd Edition, now in two volumes: Fertility Counseling: Clinical Guide and Fertility Counseling: Case Studies.  In her academic career, Mrs. Covington has been a researcher and continues to write, teach, supervise, and mentor the next generation of clinicians in this work. As a founding member and past Chair of the Mental Health Professional Group of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, Mrs. Covington has been recognized for scientific contributions and service, including work to establish guidelines, training and practice for mental health professionals working in reproductive medicine.