 Client-centered
- Interactive
- Private and confidential
- Individualized
Need to adapt to
challenging conditions
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Photo: WHO/J. Mohr
Slide 15
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The most important aspect of effective family planning counseling
is centering the interaction and discussions on the needs and
desires of each client.
Family planning counseling should always be interactive. This
means the provider should not only ask questions but encourage
the client to ask questions as well. Providers need to listen
to and respond to the client’s concerns and encourage discussion.
Effective counseling involves the client actively in every part
of the process.
Family planning counseling should be private and confidential.
Many of the issues discussed, such as sexuality, may be highly
sensitive. Clients will be more comfortable and talk more when
they know others will not overhear or learn about the conversation.
Family planning counseling should be individualized for each
client. Individual needs and preferences vary extensively by
age, parity, lifestyle, life stage, number of sexual partners,
risk of sexually transmitted diseases and other factors. Each
counseling session should be tailored to address the particular
needs of each client. Counselors should avoid standard lecture-type
information and other approaches that result in less attention
to the particular circumstances of the person being counseled.
For some individuals, counseling might be more effective by
including the client's partner. Couple counseling can result
in better continuation rates. Some women, however, may choose
to keep their contraceptive use a secret from their partner
to avoid conflict or even violence.
Some conditions are particularly challenging for good counseling,
such as crowded clinics, settings that make privacy difficult,
limited staff and time, and long waiting lines. Providers will
have to adapt to these conditions in order to incorporate elements
of good counseling. Using educational materials in the waiting
area or group educational sessions for general background information
can help to save time during individual counseling. When privacy
is an issue, providers may be able to take clients outside or
use barriers to create a private space.
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