Biography

I have worked with the infertile population for 22 years; personally experienced infertility; have done home studies; taught parent effectiveness at local community centers, adult school and nursery schools; I have 3 teenage children.

Biography

Lauryn was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and graduated from Louisiana State University. She then went on to achieve a successful career in sales and marketing until she was diagnosed with primary infertility at the age of 35. With mid life worries, career burnout and the 3 year struggle to achieve a successful pregnancy she began searching for an alternate purpose for her life.

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After much soul searching, she quit her job, started infertility treatments and enrolled in Nova Southeastern University in the Marriage and Family Therapy Master's Program and the Medical Family Therapy Certificate Program respectively. She graduated with her Master's in the summer of 2006 but during her stint in the program she took on a real passion for helping other women and couples who have or are struggling with infertility. This includes struggles for conception, miscarriage, donor egg and donor egg recipient patients, as well as donor sperm and donor sperm recipient patients. She works with relationships, communication and sexual issues surrounding infertility as well as the stress related to infertility medical protocol. She also works with transition to motherhood through live birth, adoption and high risk pregnancies as well as premature births and grief.

She is currently obtaining her Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Therapy at Nova Southeastern University and expanding her business where she strives to bridge the gap between therapeutic and medical worlds through education of patients, staff and doctors about the benefits of stress reduction around medical treatments to promote the best possible outcome.

Biography

Lauryn was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and graduated from Louisiana State University. She then went on to achieve a successful career in sales and marketing until she was diagnosed with primary infertility at the age of 35. With mid life worries, career burnout and the 3 year struggle to achieve a successful pregnancy she began searching for an alternate purpose for her life.

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After much soul searching, she quit her job, started infertility treatments and enrolled in Nova Southeastern University in the Marriage and Family Therapy Master's Program and the Medical Family Therapy Certificate Program respectively. She graduated with her Master's in the summer of 2006 but during her stint in the program she took on a real passion for helping other women and couples who have or are struggling with infertility. This includes struggles for conception, miscarriage, donor egg and donor egg recipient patients, as well as donor sperm and donor sperm recipient patients. She works with relationships, communication and sexual issues surrounding infertility as well as the stress related to infertility medical protocol. She also works with transition to motherhood through live birth, adoption and high risk pregnancies as well as premature births and grief.

She is currently obtaining her Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Therapy at Nova Southeastern University and expanding her business where she strives to bridge the gap between therapeutic and medical worlds through education of patients, staff and doctors about the benefits of stress reduction around medical treatments to promote the best possible outcome.

Biography

In my 20+ years as a psychotherapist I have been fortunate to have experienced working in a variety of agencies and settings that provided opportunities to learn from the clients whose lives have intersected with mine and from the professionals who have guided me along the way.  I received my BS in psychology and sociology from Bradley University, Peoria, IL, in 1994.  I earned my Masters in Social Work from the University of IL Urbana-Champaign in 1997.  I am licensed in the State of IL as a Clinical Social Worker, and I am a Certified Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor via IAODAPCA in Illinois.

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I opened my private practice in September, 2006, and have developed a specialty working with those who are experiencing issues with fertility.  I facilitate a free, open to the public, monthly support group for couples called the Reproductive Challenges Networking Group which meets the second Thursday of each month.  Those attending receive education about various aspects relating to infertility, assisted reproductive technology procedures such as IVF, third party reproduction such as donor eggs/embryos and gestational carriers, etc.  The couples also have the opportunity to network and receive emotional support from others who understand what it’s like to struggle in the fertile world.

Additional information can be found on my website:  www.ogburncounselingservices.com.  You can contact me via that website, or through my email: leia.ogburn@comcast.net.  My telephone number is (309) 682-3915.

Biography

Lisa Schuman, LCSW is a psychotherapist who has been counseling individuals, couples and groups on a variety of issues and has specialized in reproductive medicine for over a decade. Ms. Schuman helps individuals through family building processes such as IUI and IVF, ovum and sperm donation, perinatal loss, single parent issues, gay and lesbian issues, oocyte cryopreservation, surrogacy and adoption.

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She leads two Drop-In Support Groups, one focused on infertility treatment concerns and the other focused on third party reproduction, for both ovum donation and sperm donation recipients. She is also founding director of Adoption Cooperative Consultants, an adoption consulting group. Ms. Schuman is a frequent speaker and consultant for seminars, symposiums and television programs.

Ms. Schuman earned her graduate degree at Yeshiva University and studied psychoanalysis at the Greenwich Institute in Manhattan. She is also a supervisor and on faculty at the Object Relations Institute for Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis. She is a former board member and support group leader for the American Fertility Association and has been actively involved with many other infertility and adoption organizations. In addition, she is an active member of the Mental Health Professional Group for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and is Chair of the Oocyte Cryopreservation Task Force.