Infertility and emotional configurations identified by psychological diagnosis

Objective: To determine if the graphic projective technique, associated with psychological interview, can be used as a facilitator for the effective expression of emotional difficulties related to the diagnosis of infertility. Methods: The study included patients with a diagnosis of infertility who started assisted reproductive treatments between July 2010 and April 2011. In the first stage, a semi-directed psychological interview was performed. In the second stage, the patients were asked to draw a human figure and a family. In the third stage of the study, we performed tabulation and evaluation of the collected data. Using psychoanalysis, we conducted a qualitative analysis and sought to understand the complex emotional phenomena related to a diagnosis of infertility. Results: The study included 27 men and 35 women. Twenty-nine patients (46.80/0) were undergoing an additional assisted reproductive attempt, and 33 (53.20/0) were undergoing their first treatment attempt. The average age of the women was 32.9 years, and the average age of the men was 38.1 years. We noticed that the men rarely sought help from a mental health professional when the source of the infertility diagnosis was the female. However, considering the combined factors involved in infertility, a balance between identifying factors from both genders that may interfere with successful assisted reproductive treatment must be sought. We also observed that most women drew a family with four members; men diagnosed with azoospermia represent the human figure only by a face and repeat the model of feminine expression to represent the family, while the other male participants produced a family drawing with three members. Conclusions: Treatment by mental health professionals is indicated for patients who are undergoing assisted reproductive treatment from the use of projective graphs, as the design captured plastic representations of emotional experiences and facts and enabled the expression of the emotional difficulties associated with this process, facilitating the diagnosis and providing elements for therapeutic work.