In many countries, legislation and the requirements of regulatory authorities impact on the provision of infertility counselling services in assisted reproduction clinics. Our experience is based on providing an infertility counselling service that is governed by legislation that was introduced in 1984 (Infertility Medical Procedures Act), in Victoria, Australia. Under this legislation all patients and donors must attend counselling prior to commencing treatment, and counselling must be available freely to all patients at all times. Counsellors have therefore become an integral part of the treatment team and have had the opportunity of gaining very wide experience of the types of issues with which patients are grappling. Counsellors have also had to grapple with issues such as defining the purpose of the initial counselling session, refining the interview to best meet the needs of the patients, and developing ways to raise the awareness of psychological issues with other staff. It is with this background that we have written this chapter.

The aim of this chapter is to explore why infertility counselling is important and necessary. The psychological experiences of patients and the issues that arise for them are explored, and consideration is given to different types of psychological counselling and how counselling can benefit patients. Some recommendations are made for clinicians who need to understand the psychological experiences of their patients and work closely with the counsellor. The chapter also deals with the often complex issues faced by recipients and donors of genetic material and the role of the counsellor in helping them to deal with those issues.