Infertility Counseling: A Comprehensive Handbook for Clinicians by Linda Hammer Burns (Editor), Sharon N. Covington (Editor) Purchase at:  Amazon.com  Format: Hardcover, 1st ed., 630pp.  ISBN: 1850709246 Publisher: Prthnon Pu  Pub. Date: December 1998

Description from Amazon.com

Book Description 

Comprehensive handbook on infertility counseling developed especially for physicians and mental health professionals. A new kind of clinical textbook, made necessary by today's rapidly advancing reproductive technologies and by the complexity of issues facing infertile couples. Contains nine main multi-chapter sections that cover the psychological and medical aspects of infertility, assessment, treatment, counseling, third-party reproduction, alternative family building, post-infertility counseling, and the professional practice of infertility counseling. Authors Burns and Covington are founding members and former chairs of the Mental Health Professional Group of The American Society of Reproductive Medicine, and with their contributors have extensive clinical, research, and educational experience in reproductive medicine and the psychological aspects of infertility. "A comprehensive handbook on infertility counseling is timely and urgently needed by clinicians. With the changing climate surrounding infertility services, we may soon find that infertility counseling is mandated by law or recommended by practice guidelines." The Authors.

Book Info 

Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Comprehensive, multidisciplinary text for those concerned with providing care for infertile patients through patient education and counseling. Includes extensive appendices. For clinicians. DNLM: Infertility--psychology.

The author, Sharon N. Covington, MSW , February 10, 1999

This is the book I always wished I had in my library! 
As a clinical social worker and practicing psychotherapist, I have been working in the field of reproductive medicine for almost 20 years. During this time, I have seen dramatic changes in reproductive technologies available to infertile people, as well as, the associated psychosocial challenges faced by these patients and their medical team. Those of us who have been working as mental health professionals with the reproductive medical team since these early days gained our experience on the job, learning from our patients and applying our previous clinical knowledge and training to this population. There was no "Comprehensive Handbook" to turn to as a reference or text and, so, Linda and I decided to write our own. If you have been hungry for solid clinical information and resources for your infertile patients or yourself, I believe you will find "Infertility Counseling: A Comprehensive Handbook for Clinicians" a full course meal! This book contains 28 chapters, written by the top clinicians in the field--mental health professionals, physicians, nurses, and a lawyer. It is edited for clarity and continuity, with each chapter containing an historical overview, review of literature/research, theoretical framework, clinical issues and therapeutic interventions, and a look towards the future. We have assembled an appendices which contains useful clinical tools for assessment, treatment, and practice, and an extensive resource section covering support groups, books, and other materials on each subject area. We, also, have a comprehenisve glossary of reproductive medical terminology provided by the American Society of Reproductive Medicine. We wrote this book to help generalists and specialists. If you are a therapist or health professional who has a infertile client and are inexperienced and unknowledgeable about how to deal with the complex psychosocial issues faced by this population, "Infertility Counseling" is just the resource you need. If you are an infertility counselor or other reproductive health professional and need a ready reference for unique situations and standards of practice, than our book is for you. We look forward to reading you comments on Amazon.com! Sharon Covington

Description from BarnesandNoble.com

Annotation

"...a comprehensive, clinical handbook covering the medical and psychological aspects of infertility, assessment, treatment, counseling, third-party reproduction, alternative family building, post-infertility counseling, and more." Appropriate for: Infertility Counselors, Infertility Specialists.

From the Publisher

Comprehensive handbook on infertility counseling developed especially for physicians and mental health professionals. This is a new kind of clinical textbook, made necessary by todayOs rapidly advancing reproductive technologies and by the complexity of issues facing infertile couples. Contains nine main multi-chapter sections that cover the psychological and medical aspects of infertility, assessment, counseling and intervention, third-party reproduction, special issues, special populations, alternative family building, post infertility counseling, and the professional practice of infertility counseling. Authors Burns and Covington are founding members and former chairs of the Mental Health Professional Group of The American Society of Reproductive Medicine, and with their contributors have extensive clinical, research, and educational experience in reproductive medicine and the psychological aspects of infertility.

From Booknews

A multidisciplinary reference for all health professionals providing care for infertile patients through patient education and counseling. Contributors draw on background in medicine, social work, psychology, marriage and family therapy, and psychiatry. They deal with issues including assessment, treatment modalities, medical counseling issues, special populations, third-party reproduction, alternative family building, postinfertility counseling issues, and infertility counseling in practice. Includes bibliographies of publications and videos, contacts for organizations, clinical protocols, guidelines for screening and counseling, and consent forms. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.