Programme
The next mind/body programme will take place on Saturday 21st Novemeber - please download an application form to book your place.
Download the Application Form (pdf, 57kb)
The desire to have children is one of our most basic instincts and fundamental desires. Unanticipated difficulties conceiving can have a negative impact on everything from your outlook on life to your closest relationships. Patients often find that by the time they are diagnosed with infertility and are initiating treatment they are beset by an array of emotions, often contradictory. Research has shown that the stress associated with fertility treatment can be at a level comparable to the stress associated with serious illness.
At the SIMS Clinic, we want to do our best to ensure that our clients are as prepared as possible for the experience of fertility treatment so that they find it significantly less stressful than they would otherwise. There are some very key reasons why we feel strongly about helping patients maintain the lowest distress level possible:
- We do not want patients to feel sad, anxious, guilty, lonely or angry as they go through fertility treatment. The physical rigours of fertility treatment are enough to manage.
- Research shows that the level of distress may impact on the success of treatment. The most recent study showed that women who were the most anxious and depressed prior to their IVF treatment cycle were 93% less likely to conceived than the least distressed women.
- Another study showed that the number one reason patients drop out of fertility treatment is not because their doctor was discouraging them from continuing but because of their distress.
Infertility patients need to know about the impact of lifestyle habits on their fertility. Even patients with the best prognosis have lower changes of success if, for example, they smoke. The sooner these lifestyle habits can be changed, the better the chances for success.
To assist our clients, the SIMS Clinic regularly holds Mind/Body Day Retreats. The goal of the Mind/Body Day Retreat is to provide you with relaxation strategies, stress management skills and information on lifestyle habits that you can use to feel physically and psychologically healthier. The Mind/Body Day Retreat allows you to participate in a group with others in a similar situation to your own who are experiencing comparable feelings. It will provide you with the skills to reduce distress at every stage of treatment.
There are two types of people who would benefit from participating in the Mind/Body Day Retreat:
- Those who are feeling o.k. but anticipate more intense feelings as treatment progresses and want to stay o.k.,
- Those who are already feeling not o.k.
The goal of the SIMS Clinic is to have all of our patients at the o.k. end of the scale.
Couples on the Mind/Body Day Retreat will learn:
- Numerous relaxation strategies and stress management skills.
- How to change lifestyle habits which can have a negative impact on fertility.
- Cognitive restructuring, which involves identifying and reframing recurrent negative thought patterns, so that what starts as "I will never have a baby," may end up as "I am doing everything I can to try to get pregnant."
- Self-nurturing skills ranging from how to respond to others’ comments to how to restructure your daily life to add as much joy as you can.
The Mind/Body Day Retreat was developed by Alice Domar, PhD, based on her world-renowned clinical programme and groundbreaking research. Dr. Domar is a pioneer in the application of mind/body medicine and the executive director of the Domar Center, Boston U.S.A. Her programmes have been clinically proven to reduce the distress associated with infertility. The Mind/Body Day Retreat will be led by Margaret Dunne, Psychotherapist and specialist fertility counsellor who has trained with Alice Domar. The Mind/Body Day Retreat will include a workshop by a nutritionist who will give information on nutrition and lifestyle habit improvements which can aid increased chances of successful fertility treatment. The Mind/Body Day Retreat will also include a practical workshop led by an experienced yoga teacher which will include demonstrations and practices of yoga and deep physical relaxation techniques aimed at assisting participants to better manage the stress of the fertility treatment.
Each participating couple will (a) receive a CD “Relaxation Experience” by Alice Domar Ph.D.This CD offers individuals guided relaxation and meditation. Part 1 contains 17 minutes of body scan, meditation and mental imagery and part 2 contains 13 minutes of autogenic training and mental imagery.
The Mind/Body Day Retreat takes place in the SIMS Clinic on a Saturday from 10am to 5pm. Participation on the retreat is limited to eight couples. The fee for the Mind/Body Day Retreat is €290 per couple. Only those couples who have a genuine interest in attending and fully participating in the Mind/Body Day Retreat should consider applying. The Retreat leader reserves the right to request a couple to leave the Retreat if in her opinion their participation in the Retreat is unhelpful to the other participants. In that case, the couple concerned will be given a full refund.
Please find an application form for the Mind Body Day Retreat here. If you wish to apply, please complete the application form and furnish it with the remittance for the fee to Ms. Margaret Dunne, “Avalon”, 16 Glenageary Hall, Glenageary, Co. Dublin. Places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis to the first eight couples to submit completed applications forms with payment.