Meet Stefanie

I became a Reproductive Mental Health Specialist because I kept noticing something missing in the fertility world. The medical piece was being handled with extraordinary care. The emotional piece, the grief that doesn't have a name, the loneliness of a journey most people around you can't fully understand, was often left unspoken.

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That's the space I work in.

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I specialize in the emotional experience of family forming: IVF, donor conception, third party reproduction, pregnancy loss, and the alternative paths that nobody planned for but many people find themselves on. My clients are often high-achievers who are keeping it together everywhere except on the inside. They don't need someone to tell them to stay positive. They need someone who already understands what they're carrying, without having to explain it.

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With more than a decade of experience, I work with individuals and couples of diverse backgrounds, ages, and orientations, in Chicago and nationally. I lead a team of reproductive mental health specialists and oversee the development of evidence-based services in this space. I am also pioneering the first co-located reproductive mental health practice within a CCRM fertility clinic, integrating specialized psychotherapy directly into a medical environment to support patient well-being and strengthen interdisciplinary care. In this role I collaborate daily with reproductive endocrinologists, reproductive attorneys, nutritionists, and third-party reproduction specialists.

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I hold a Master of Social Work from the University of Chicago Crown Family School. My clinical training at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine deepened my understanding of complex medical outcomes, complicated grief, and ambiguous loss, the foundation of everything I do today.

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Beyond my clinical work, I regularly provide education for mental health and healthcare professionals on ambiguous loss, infertility-related distress, and best practices in reproductive mental health. I am actively involved with RESOLVE and RTZ Hope, contributing to professional discussions and community education, and have been a guest expert on the Egg Whisperer Show, a leading national fertility education podcast. I am a member of ASRM and MHPG and previously served on the board of the Society for Social Work Leaders in Health Care.

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This work is personal to me. And if you've found your way here, I have a sense of why. You don't have to find the words. I already understand.