Counselling Support for BCRM Patients

At BCRM we appreciate how emotionally challenging having fertility problems and undergoing treatment can be. Pregnancy loss is also recognised as being really tough, especially if that loss comes after successful fertility treatment. Providing support is an important aspect of the care the clinic provides, and we would encourage you to use the BCRM Fertility Counselling Service.

The BCRM Fertility Counselling Service

  • Counselling can be assessed right from the outset when you first come to the clinic
  • For NHS patients, BCRM is pleased to offer one complementary counselling appointment for each NHS funded IVF or ICSI egg collection cycle
  • For self-funding patients, BCRM offers one complementary counselling appointment during your investigation stage and a further three complementary sessions for each egg collection IVF or ICSI cycle of treatment you may have
  • For patients who are attending the Recurrent Miscarriage Clinic, BCRM offers one complementary counselling appointment
  • If you require further counselling support you can have as many sessions as you need, but these are provided on a self-funding basis at a fee of £65.00
  • You can either come to BCRM and see Wendy or Francine in person, or you can speak to them via Zoom or over the phone
  • Appointments last one hour
  • Counselling can be accessed individually or with your partner (if you have one
  • The BCRM Fertility Counselling Service is confidential and is separate from your medical investigations, tests and treatments
  • Counselling support is available for up to six months after any treatment has finished - whatever the outcome
  • Please remember, you do not have to be in a crisis to access this service


The BCRM Fertility Counsellors

Wendy Martin and Francine Blanchet are BCRM’s in house therapists. They are both BICA accredited specialist fertility counsellors with many years of experience and they will help you with any emotional, social and relational difficulties which you might encounter whilst trying for a baby.

They are pleased to offer confidential counselling support to all BCRM’s patients – for those who come to us with fertility issues and for those who are attending BCRM’s Recurrent Miscarriage Clinic.

To make a counselling appointment

  • Call the clinic on 0117 259 1159 and speak to one of BCRM’s Patient Advisors
  • Email BCRM via contact@BCRM.clinic
  • Speak to your nurse about making you an appointment when you see or talk to her
  • The receptionist will book you an appointment whenever you are at the clinic

For more information about counselling support for BCRM patients , please download the Patient Leaflet “The BCRM Fertility Counselling Service”

How counselling may help you

In your counselling appointment Wendy and Francine will get to know you and understand your current needs. The session will give you the opportunity to: -

  • Talk through your thoughts, experiences and feelings and explore any concerns you may have
  • Identify what might be helpful including supporting you around decision-making ad looking forward to the next steps
  • Think about how you are coping and help you find better ways to cope if needed

In addition to talking therapy and counselling, Wendy and Francine offer a range of tools and techniques to help you improve the quality of your experience and maintain the optimum quality of life. These include the following: -

  • Mindfulness to calm you and help you remain in the present moment if your thoughts are taking you off into the future all the time (Wendy)
  • Positive psychology techniques to harness your inner strength and maximise your wellbeing during each stage if treatment
  • EMDR for help with serious trauma and post-traumatic stress (Francine)
  • Coping strategies, stress management and relaxation techniques and relaxation techniques to enhance wellbeing
  • Hypnotherapy and guided visualisation to help relive anxiety and distress – especially about the medical procedures involved in treatment (Wendy)
  • Distraction techniques to help take your mind off your thoughts at difficult times
  • Communication tools and strategies to help you express your experience yourself and communicate better with others like your partner, family, friends and work colleagues

Please let us know if you would like to focus on any of these strategies or therapeutic techniques during your session.

Ethical and Emotional Implications Counselling

The HFEA requires all licenced fertility clinics to provide Implications Counselling to any patients having treatment using donated sperm eggs or embryos, and to those patients who are donating their sperm eggs or embryos.

If you are using donor sperm or donor eggs in your treatment – or if you are coming to the clinic to be a donor, you will need to have attended an ‘ethical and emotional implications counselling session’.

The decision to use donor gametes in order to have a child can be emotionally challenging and can have implications for you and your future children. Implications counselling enables you (and your partner if you have one) to discuss, in confidence, your views, thoughts and feelings on associated issues in a way that you may not have previously had a chance to do so.

For further information about the kinds of things that are covered in implications counselling sessions, please download the Patient Information Leaflet “Emotional and Ethical Implications Counselling’

Please see our patient information leaflets

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