It is over two decades since the first test-tube baby was born. During this period a new belief that all infertile women can now have babies has become widely accepted; indeed, infertile couples may feel great pressure to seek a medical solution. However, the psychological and social effects of the changing experiences of infertility remain confusing, both for those who experience infertility and for wider society. In this book, a distinguished range of contributors, including novelist Hilary Mantel and Germaine Greer, examine the experience of infertility from both male and female perspectives, the psychological aspects of infertility diagnosis and treatment, and the often radical and unexpected effects on kinship.
Drawing from a wide range of theoretical backgrounds including Jungian, analytical, and compelling personal reflections, this book aims to unravel the implications of advancing reproductive technology for our understanding of ourselves and our families.

Related link: Free Email Alerting

Jane Haynes worked as an actress at the Royal Court Theatre. After she met R.D. Laing and read The Divided Self she gave up the theatre and became involved with Laing's work at Kinglsey Hall. She trained as a Jungian psychoanalyst. Haynes has moved away from the position of psychoanalyst to a psychotherapist who considers that it is the combination of dialogue - within an ethical therapeutic relationship - and a trained ear that are the essential ingredients of 'The Talking Cure'. The consulting room is a space where, to borrow from John Donne, 'souls negotiate'. A space in which secrets can be spoken and where they feel the first shock of light and air. The force for change that is unleashed in the consulting room is not a one-way process; the wise therapist changes too, and Jane Haynes shows how this happens. There is nothing formulaic about the dialogue she holds with her patients, and nothing doctrinaire.