“A bend in the road is not the end of the road, unless you do not make the turn.”

Welcome

Welcome to Informed Fertility – a group counselling practice specifically designed to support individuals, couples and groups in their family building goals. Informed Fertility’s Reproductive Counsellors are trained social workers, psychotherapists, certified counselling therapists, and grief and perinatal mental health educators. Together, Dara (the Founder and Clinical Director), Blair and Kate are committed to supporting people experiencing primary or secondary infertility/loss, as well as those seeking assisted fertility options for reasons due to sexual orientation/gender identity, relationship status, or underlying medical conditions unrelated to reproduction.

We believe strongly that having a child is a basic right of choice and work thoughtfully and purposefully within an inclusive and anti-discriminatory framework. Whether you are trying to conceive at home or through a fertility clinic, are struggling after trying on your own, or knew you needed help from the start, we are here for you.

We offer support to anyone who comes to us in their journey to become a parent or to expand their family, and to those looking for support during pregnancy, post-partum, and through parenting. And for those who have decided to stop treatments and are moving on into a new and unexpected pathway, we are here for you as well. We are available to support donor conceived adults grappling with their identity, friends and family wishing to better understand and comfort loved ones struggling, and those whose dream it is to help someone else have a baby as a donor or surrogate.

In all these cases, we are here to answer your questions, help you navigate complex emotions and decisions, assuage your concerns, and help you step into the life that’s waiting for you.

Informed Fertility’s offices are based in Ontario and Alberta, and between our team of counsellors we have the capacity to support clients in person at our Toronto location, and virtually across Canada and internationally. We work closely with well-respected clinics, fertility specialists, reproductive lawyers, supporting agencies and community organizations, as well as other professionals, in assisting our clients navigate the complexities of the assisted fertility journey.

Our Professional Team

Dara Roth Edney

(she/her)

Dara Roth Edney (BSW, MSW, RSW) is a social worker and psychotherapist, and the founder and Clinical Director of Informed Fertility. She has been in practice since 2000, and works full-time as a Reproductive Counsellor, assisting people as they go through some of the hardest times of their lives and supporting those who require outside intervention in what for others, is a private and intimate experience.

Guiding people through the family building process as well as life after infertility, Dara’s focus includes reproductive counselling, coaching, and overall mental health supports, in particular around grief, loss, bereavement, decision-making, interpersonal relationships, anxiety reduction techniques, and the complexities of identity and family building through donation and surrogacy. She is committed to providing services that are inclusive, empathetic, personalized and helpful, informed by her educational background and years of clinical and research experience, and inspired by her own long journey with infertility, IVF and ultimately, surrogacy.

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Blair Wexler-Singer

(she/her)

Blair Wexler-Singer (BSC, MSW, RSW) is a social worker and psychotherapist registered in the provinces of Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia, practicing in the field of reproductive counselling. She has a certificate in Perinatal Grief and Loss and has over 17 years’ experience working extensively with people who have endured trauma, grief and loss, addiction, mental illness, and attachment challenges.

Blair is passionate about providing positive foundations and wrap-around support for individuals, couples and groups hoping to grow their families through collaborative and assisted fertility options. She provides sensitive education and thoughtful guidance to help clarify roles, expectations and potential outcomes during pre-conception, pregnancy, and postpartum stages, as well as to those wishing to explore pathways to adoption, or considering life without children.

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KATE KOEI

(she/her)

Kate Koei (MA, MACP, CCC) is a Counselling Therapist and Certified Grief Educator with a master’s degree in counselling psychology and close to a decade of clinical counselling experience, specializing in grief and loss, childhood and adult trauma, immigrant challenges, domestic violence, complex relationship patterns, including supporting survivors of abuse.

Kate has extensive experience working with individuals and couples navigating the emotional complexities of infertility, pregnancy and infant loss, as well as the additional challenges of family building through surrogacy, donation, adoption, physical health issues, and other life circumstances. She acknowledges the profound impact of trauma, culture, and relationship dynamics on one’s ability to cope and navigate through the family building journey, and her deep understanding and empathy stem from both professional training and personal experience with pregnancy loss, recognizing the unique, often isolating nature of this journey.

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Our Administrative
SUPPORT

Amanda Boyce is the amazingly responsive and thorough woman behind the computers and phones at Informed Fertility, managing all the administrative (and animal wrangling!) duties of our group counselling practice. While she is the main point of contact for Dara, Blair and Kate, in the rare circumstance that she is away from her desk for an extended period of time, Hannah steps in to keep everything running smoothly until Amanda comes back.
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General Counselling Support

Emotional and informational/educational support for Intended Parents, Donors and Surrogates
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Implications Counselling & Reports

Required counselling and reports for Intended Parents in advance of treatment
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Pregnancy, Parenting or Moving on

Emotional support for new life stages, after experiencing infertility or loss
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Donor and Surrogate Assessments

Required assessments and reports for donors and surrogates in advance of cycles
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Support for Family, Friends & Donor Conceived Adults

Emotional and practical support for loved ones and donor conceived adults
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Group Counselling and Mediation

Counselling support, group facilitation and mediation for parties of 2+
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Dara Talks to Patients Videos and Podcasts

Peer Support

You are not alone

Experiencing infertility or reproductive loss, or accessing assisted fertility options as part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, or as a single person can be an emotional and overwhelming experience. While this can often feel isolating and leave you with many questions, you are not alone. Various support groups facilitated by professionals as well as by peers, are available, for free or a small fee.
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USEFUL LINKS AND RESOURCES

Helpful websites and books

Experiencing infertility or reproductive loss, accessing assisted fertility options as part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, or as a single person can be an emotional and overwhelming experience, leading to many questions. It is important to depend on accurate information from reliable sources when searching for answers, and to have a good starting place when looking for books for yourself or your young children..
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Memberships and Associations

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND OUR PROMISE

One of the ways we manage stress in our lives is by spending time outside in nature, around trees and water, feeling the sun above us, wind around us, and a sense of being connected to the earth below our feet. We are privileged to live in Toronto with easy access to beautiful local ravines, forested trails, countless rivers and of course, Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes. In contemplating how rejuvenating time in nature is to our mental and physical health, it is important to us that we acknowledge the history of this land, the impact of settlers, in particular, our profession as social workers, and our own responsibility moving forward.

Toronto is the traditional territory of many Indigenous nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. We also acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit. Read more…