Preparing for your Psycho-social Assessment

Are you feeling a little nervous about your psycho-social assessment interview?

The idea of whether or not you can become a parent riding on a single meeting can be enough to put any of us on the verge of a mental breakdown! (keep reading to learn more about how this isn’t really true at all)

I totally understand.

I want you to know that your psycho-social interview is not something you need to freak out about. We work with several independent social workers who are all really down to earth and easy to talk to. Real people, just like you. Once you have completed the initial interview, they go on to be an important part of your support system, should you desire.

While psycho-social evaluations are stressful, they’re also an important (and required) part of the surrogacy process. Speaking with a social worker isn’t to decide whether or not you can become a parent, but to assess your support systems and explore your journey. Becoming a parent through egg donation and/or surrogacy is high stress. Not only do you need to be prepared to manage the usual pressures of becoming a parent, you need to be prepared for the additional challenges of an egg donation or surrogacy journey. Through your assessment interview, you will explore what supports you have and in what areas you could use more support.

You can prepare for your psychosocial evaluation by:

Having quiet time set aside for your meeting. If your psychosocial evaluation is in person you will want to make childcare arrangements if you have children. Be sure to have a reasonable amount of time available in your day so that you are not rushed. When scheduling your appointment be sure to ask how long you can expect the assessment to take.

If your appointment will be via Skype or phone, you should ensure you have arrangements made so that your older children are busy or have childcare. You do not want to be distracted or interrupted. Ensure you have enough time scheduled in you day so that you are not rushed. Plan to be in a quiet space with minimal background noise. If your meeting will be over Skype you should be sure the area you will be in has adequate light.

Keeping in mind that the social workers we work with are rooting for you! We want to make your family dreams come true. Should there be concerns about whether or not you are prepared for your surrogacy journey, the road does not come to an end. The social worker can make recommendations to better prepare you for surrogacy.

Understanding that the questions are not designed to trick you. You will notice that some of the questions you are asked are similar. This is done to account for different interpretations of the question and to receive more accurate results by establishing patterns. This is not to catch you in lies or make you mess anything up.

Just being honest. Most of the time, Intended Parents find the assessment interview flows easily. Your assessment allows for normal sadness, unhappiness, day to day stress and real life. We are all human. No one is expected to be perfect. There is no way to be 100% prepared for a surrogacy journey or parenting, and there is no way to be a perfect parent. There are, however, a million ways to be a good parent.

In all, this assessment rarely takes more than an hour. If you approach it well prepared and give honest answers, it should be no big deal! If you have any questions about your psycho-social interview, please be sure to reach out.