Courses · Fertility & Infertility
Infertility as Existential Trauma
The psychological and existential toll of infertility, trauma, grief, and PTSD, explored through a clinical lens by Dr. Clay Brigance, LPC.
Taught by Dr. Clay Brigance, PhD, LPC
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Your instructor
Dr. Clay Brigance, PhD, LPC
Licensed Professional Counselor, Founder of Shiloh Counseling
Dr. Clay Brigance, PhD, LPC, is a licensed professional counselor and researcher who specializes in couple therapy for infertility and reproductive loss. He's the founder and clinical director of Shiloh Counseling, a group practice in Ballwin, Missouri. The practice helps couples through grief, uncertainty and relationship stress during the fertility journey. His work pairs evidence-based couple therapy with research on interpersonal mindfulness, emotional regulation and relational resilience in couples facing infertility. He earned his PhD in counseling at the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 2023. He developed the Four Pillars of Connection During Reproductive Grief framework. His forthcoming book with APA Books is Couple Therapy for Reproductive Grief: Utilizing Emotion-Based Approaches. He hosts the podcast Love and Infertility. He and his wife have been through infertility themselves.
Curriculum · 8 lessons · 1h 14m
- Why Infertility Is Different: Clay's Story and Disenfranchised Grief 11:26
- Infertility as Trauma: Ontological Death and Couple Breakdown Predictors 11:07
- The Male Experience, Well-Intended Chivalry, and the 43% PTSD Finding 12:54
- Self-Soothing, Interpersonal Mindfulness, and Building Support 9:56
- Q&A: PTSD Duration, Resilience, and Achieving Acceptance 9:26
- Provider Co-Regulation and Clinical Presence 6:32
- Humility, Vertical Assessment, and Healthy Boundaries 6:48
- Recurrent Loss, Hypervigilance, and the CEO of Emotions 5:37
About this course
Dr. Clay Brigance, Licensed Professional Counselor and researcher, brings both clinical expertise and personal experience to this deeply human exploration of infertility as a form of existential trauma.
Drawing from his own fertility journey and years of clinical practice, Dr. Brigance covers:
- Infertility as trauma: why fertility struggles meet the clinical criteria for trauma and PTSD, and how the experience reshapes identity and meaning
- The isolating nature of infertility: how couples withdraw from social connections, and why well-meaning advice often causes additional harm
- The male experience: how men process fertility grief differently, the role of masculinity and "well-intended chivalry," and why couples often grieve on different timelines
- Couple dynamics and decisional conflict: navigating treatment decisions together when partners have different risk tolerances and emotional responses
- Reproductive grief and PTSD research: what the clinical literature tells us about the psychological toll, including duration of symptoms and factors that predict resilience
- Communication for non-therapists: practical guidance for providers, nurses, and support workers on how to avoid inadvertently adding to a patient's trauma
- Achieving acceptance: how individuals and couples move through grief toward redefining identity and finding meaning, even without the outcome they hoped for
Essential viewing for patients navigating fertility struggles and the providers, counselors, and support staff who walk alongside them. Pairs well with the Restorative Reproductive Medicine framework for understanding infertility as a multifaceted experience.
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