Support for Stopping Treatment
A question that deserves care. A decision that deserves support.
Deciding whether to continue or stop fertility treatment is deeply personal—and there is no "right" answer. At Dancing Bee Counseling in Madison, Wisconsin, Abby Lemke, MS, LPC-IT provides a safe, supportive space where you set the direction. My role is never to suggest or push you toward any choice, but to walk alongside you as you explore what feels best for your life and values. Together, we focus on clarity, emotional well-being, and helping you feel confident in whatever decision you make.
The Question That Opens New Possibilities
Deciding whether to continue or stop fertility treatment is one of the most personal and challenging choices you may face. These questions often arise during quiet moments—late at night, in the waiting room, or after another difficult result:
Should I stop treatment? How do I know when it's time? Does this mean giving up, or is it choosing a new path?
You've invested so much—time, energy, hope, and care. It's natural to feel the weight of this decision. Stopping treatment does not mean your efforts were wasted or that you've failed. It means honoring your well-being and making choices that reflect your values and future goals.
At Dancing Bee Counseling, we provide a supportive space to explore these questions without judgment or pressure. Together, we focus on clarity, emotional resilience, and helping you move forward in a way that feels right for you—whether that means continuing treatment, pausing, or choosing a different direction.
Making the choice about whether to continue or end treatment is deeply personal. It's about knowing yourself, caring for your well-being, and choosing what feels right for your life and heart. This decision deserves compassion, understanding, and unwavering support.
Couples Counseling for Shared Decisions
Couples counseling creates a space for connection and understanding, where both partners can share their perspectives and hopes openly.
It helps you navigate different timelines for healing and make decisions together with confidence and care. These conversations can strengthen your bond and remind you that you're on the same team—moving forward with clarity and hope for what's next.
Counseling for Transitioning Beyond IVF
Counseling offers a supportive space to process emotions, rediscover your strengths, and explore new possibilities for your future.
Exploring the Decision
Wondering if it's time to stop fertility treatment can feel overwhelming. In therapy, we explore this question together in a supportive, judgment-free space. You'll have room to consider what stopping might mean for you, what continuing could involve, and most importantly, what feels right for your heart and your life.
Processing Grief
The grief that comes with ending fertility treatment is real and deeply felt. In counseling, we create a safe, supportive space to honor these losses—the loss of biological parenthood, the identity you imagined, and the future you hoped for. Our approach is tailored to this unique experience, helping you process your grief with care and find a path toward healing and peace.
Finding Acceptance
Accepting infertility doesn't mean pretending it's easy or feeling joyful about it. It means gently weaving this reality into your life story with compassion and resilience. In therapy, we focus on cultivating a genuine acceptance—one that honors your feelings and your pain—while opening space for hope and forward movement. It's not about forced positivity, but about finding strength and meaning as you navigate this chapter.
Navigating Partner Dynamics
When partners hold different perspectives, couples therapy provides a structured space to foster understanding and make decisions collaboratively. When both partners agree but experience grief in different ways, we work together to navigate those differences with care and support.
Exploring What's Next
When it's time to consider ending attempts to conceive, the question becomes: what comes next? In therapy, we explore alternative paths such as donor options, adoption, or living child-free. The goal is not to steer you toward any particular choice, but to support thoughtful consideration of what aligns best with your values and vision for family.
Building Life After
Life after infertility treatment looks different for everyone. We work on rebuilding identity, finding purpose, rediscovering parts of yourself that treatment consumed, and creating a meaningful life whatever form it takes.
Why See a Fertility-Specialized Therapist?
Understanding the Transition
Ending fertility treatment is a specific kind of transition that general therapists may not understand. I know why this decision is so hard and what life after infertility treatment requires.
No Agenda
I won't push you to stop or to continue. My role is to help you explore what's right for you, not to decide for you. Therapy for this transition should support your decision, not make it for you.
Knowing the Medical Context
I understand the medical terminology and context of fertility treatment. You don't have to explain the basics—we can focus on the emotional aspects of your journey.
ASRM Training
My training through the American Society for Reproductive Medicine prepared me specifically for the mental health challenges of fertility treatment, including the profound transition of ending treatment.
Fertility Transition Support in Madison, Wisconsin
Dancing Bee Counseling provides specialized support for ending fertility treatment from our Waunakee office. Telehealth sessions are available throughout Wisconsin.
Dancing Bee Counseling
Serving Dane County and Beyond:
Support available as you navigate this transition.
Abby Lemke, MS, LPC-IT
Reproductive Mental Health Specialist
I founded Dancing Bee Counseling because I saw how many people were navigating fertility journeys without adequate support. One of the least-supported moments is the decision about whether to continue or stop treatment.
I provide support for this transition that honors how significant it is. Whatever you're feeling, whatever direction you're considering—you deserve compassionate support as you find your way forward.
This Decision Deserves Support
Whether you're wondering if it's time, actively deciding, or processing a decision already made, you don't have to navigate this alone. A consultation is simply a conversation about where you are.
In-person in Waunakee · Telehealth throughout Wisconsin