Director of psychological support services Julia Woodward, PhD, a professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and in Obstetrics and Gynecology, shares insight about the Duke Fertility Center’s (DFC) multidisciplinary training program for reproductive psychologists.
Q: The DFC has a dedicated psychological services program integrated into its patient care, which provides guidance and support to patients and their families. Is that unique?
There are only a handful of fertility centers with dedicated psychological service programs. DFC is the only center in the Southeast to have a full-time program that offers integrated psychological support for fertility patients as well as training opportunities for the next generation of reproductive psychologists. Specifically, we are the only center in the country training clinical psychology interns, who are in their final year of earning their PhD, and one of only two centers in the country training clinical psychology postdoctoral fellows in reproductive psychology.
Q: This program includes a collaborative partnership with postdoctoral fellows. How is that beneficial for patients and for training future team members?
Clinically, postdocs provide individual and couples therapy, co-facilitate support groups, offer decision making consults to help patients navigate complex treatment decisions, conduct psychological evaluations of gamete donors and gestational carriers and provide psychoeducation and consultation to gamete recipients and intended parents. Postdocs also collaborate on research and/or quality improvement projects; support program development initiatives; provide supplementary training to clinical psychology interns; and train medical students, ob/gyn residents and nurses in reproductive psychology topics.
“We are caring for fertility patients at a unique moment in history: the number of individuals facing infertility is rising while threats to fertility care access are increasing. Simultaneously myths and misinformation about fertility abound. These include inaccurate information such as ‘egg freezing is an insurance policy,’ ‘fertility treatment always works,’ or ‘family-building can be deferred for decades.’ Training the next generation of reproductive psychologists not only expands the number of experts who can provide clinical care and conduct critical research, but it also creates a cohort of health ambassadors who can combat misinformation.”
— Julia Woodward, PhD
Director of Psychological Support Services
“With the growing demand for fertility services, having in-house psychology resources is invaluable. At most other practices, patients are referred externally, or psychological support may not be addressed at all, making this level of access and integration truly rare.”
— Kaitlyn Johnson, BSN, RN
Third Party Nurse Navigator
“Our psychology team serves as a priceless resource to our fertility center patients. This very unique journey is often long, complex and can be heartbreaking, so having an in-house psychology team with this specialty training — who understands the challenges faced by fertility patients — is invaluable, not only to the people we serve, but to our staff as well. From working with a patient who has medical anxiety all the way to complex third party reproduction cases, our psychology team sees it all.”
— Kim Briley, RNC-RHI, CNIV
Third Party Nurse Navigator
Q: The collaboration between DFC and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences is a win-win partnership. What examples demonstrate this?
One great example is the DFC Fertility Support Group, which receives referrals from the postdocs when they are rotating in other clinics across Duke Health and sees patients who would benefit from that service. Other examples include:
- Faster evaluation for fertility patients seeking guidance from perinatal psychiatry colleagues about whether to continue or modify their psychotropic medication use
- The ability to offer clinical insights to Duke Cancer Institute (DCI) clinicians supporting patients making fertility preservation decisions
- Training for ob/gyn residents about trauma-informed care
This article was originally published in the Patient Care section of the 2026 Duke Ob/Gyn Magazine.