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PSYCHOLOGY AND COUNSELLING //New guidelines anticipated by London 2013New guidelinesThe new Psychology and CounsellingGuidelines now in development willprovide best practice advice on howpsychosocial care can be incorporatedinto daily practice to the benefit ofpatients and healthcare providers inthe field of infertility and ART. Weaim to create a framework that takes into considerationthe different ways in which healthcare is managedthroughout Europe. Thus, despite socio-cultural and legaldifferences in Europe, the Guidelines are intended to beapplicable to all countries.Several meetings for the development of the guidelineshave already taken place. The last was held during theannual meeting in Stockholm, where the scope of theguidelines was discussed. The group is now working ondefining key questions, which will lead to the collection ofevidence for evaluation. ESHRE’s research specialist,Nathalie Vermeuelen, is assisting us in this process and willconduct the evidence search. She will also train the teamon how to systematise and evaluate the quality of theevidence gathered; it is from this evidence thatrecommendations on how to incorporate psychosocial careinto daily practice will be made. We are expecting topresent the guidelines at the 2013 annual meeting inLondon.Steering committeeChris Verhaak (NL), Co-ordinatorJan Norré (BE), DeputyUschi Van den Broeck (BE), DeputyPetra Thorn (DE) ,Past Co-ordinatorSofia Gameiro (PT), Junior DeputyBudapest Campus workshopIn March we will visit Eastern Europe to deliver aworkshop in Budapest, Hungary. The workshop will focuson developing competence in psychosocial care andcounselling. This 1.5 day course will introduce participantsto psychosocial issues present at different times andsettings of the infertility experience and will provide indepthcase-discussions to deepen understanding andincrease skills for providing psychosocial care.The course has two target audiences: professionalsinvolved in the general care of people with infertility, suchas physicians, nurses and administration staff; andpsychologists and counsellors, who will be offered trainingin specific areas, such as couplestherapy or in loss and bereavement.The goal is for fertility professionalsto acquire skills for improvingpsychosocial care and/or counsellingin various settings and for variousspecific situations.IstanbulAt this year’s annual meeting in Istanbul our precongresscourse will focus on the burden of fertility treatment. Thecourse is directed at medical doctors, nurses andparamedical staff and counsellors and others involved inpsychosocial care. The aim of the course is to promotereflexion on how fertility healthcare professionals can helpmanage the burden of treatment, which will be addressedfrom different perspectives. Topics will include treatmentdrop-out, implications of different treatment protocols,impact on sex life, dealing with unsuccessful treatment, theuse of online resources to manage the burden, patient andhealthcare provider communication and quality of care.The course will end with a round-table discussion.Following the precongress course, our SIG businessmeeting welcomes all members. This year we will discussprevious and upcoming Campus events and an update ofthe progress of the guidelines will be provided. The daywill finish with our annual dinner in the city centre, held inconjunction with the International Infertility CounsellorsOrganization (IICO). Everyone interested in joining thedinner may contact Uschi Van den Broeck(uschi.vandenbroeck@uzleuven.be) for more information.This is a very promising year for the SIG Psychology andCounselling and we hope to see many of you in Budapestand Istanbul.Don’t forget for your 2012 diaries:- ESHRE Campus, Developing competence in psychosocialcare and counselling, Budapest, 23-34 March 2012- ESHRE annual meeting, Istanbul, 1-4 July 2012Sofia GameiroJunior Deputy Co-ordinatorSIG Psychology and CounsellingFocus on Reproduction January 2012 23