When to Talk to a Therapist

An excerpt from Fertility & Beyond: Join the Conversation

By Tara Joyner, LPC

As a society, we often tend to think that going to a therapist makes you “weak” or indicates you couldn’t handle things on your own. Humans weren’t created to handle things on their own.

But the truth is, it’s helpful for anyone and everyone to talk to a therapist every so often, just as you would go to your doctor for an annual checkup, even if you were not going through infertility. Life throws curveballs, infertility withstanding! It’s good to check in before things creep up.

It’s a great idea for couples to schedule a regular appointment with a therapist just to make sure they’re always improving communication and working through life’s challenges!

So, when should one talk to a therapist?

When it comes to fertility, the earlier in the process you decide to enlist a therapist, the better… Even if it’s just for a couple of sessions.

This can provide you with a plan moving forward. Perhaps the person undergoing the treatment might want some additional support throughout. And having that system in place BEFORE things get too stressful or too consuming can be quite beneficial.

You’ll have less damage to undo to yourself and/or to your marriage the sooner you make sure you’re addressing any potential and underlying issues.

The mental part of infertility is really an important component. Most people, after they overcome the fear that they’re going to be judged in some way or another, typically leave sessions feeling very grateful that they came.

Again, if you can see someone proactively instead of reactively, it will alleviate a lot of stress and frustration along the way by providing:

(1) Another outlet to process your feelings so it’s not consuming all of your relationships, your marriage in particular and;

(2) Coping mechanisms to help you get through the journey as smoothly as possible.

About Tara Joyner, LPC 

Background:  

When Tara was an undergraduate at Texas A&M, she worked in a women’s health facility processing difficult topics with patients. Later, she moved into clinical research while in graduate school. There she discovered her passion for women’s health and the associated emotional components. This motivated her to go to into private practice.  

Tara began seeing a variety of patients in her practice. Having gone through infertility herself where she had in vitro resulting in twins, she became involved with a fertility clinic and became a fervent advocate helping people through their process.  

With her firsthand experience and training, she found that she had the necessary level of empathy and knowledge of all the acronyms and industry terms, nurturing people as they navigate the waters.  

Contact Information : http://www.TaraJoynerLPC.com

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