Health advisers
Most clinics have health advisers or counsellors. They have experience of a wide range of problems and can spend more time with you than a doctor. They won’t tell you what to do, but they’ll talk through the choices you have.
You can talk about:
- sexually transmitted infections
- confidential ways of telling the people you’ve had sex with they may have an infection and need a check-up
- things on your mind about your sex life or relationships
- whether or not to use condoms with your regular partner
- sexual assault (recently or in the past) or violence in a relationship
- HIV testing
- loss of sex drive or problems getting erections
- relationships when one of you has HIV and the other doesn’t
- being HIV positive
- choices around HIV treatments
- or problems taking treatments.
To chat to a health adviser:
- ask for an appointment
- you can ask to see someone without an appointment if you don’t mind waiting
- you can speak to a health adviser over the phone
- you can ask to see a male or gay health adviser - if there is one
- you can see a health adviser without having to see a doctor first.
Health advisers can see couples who want to talk things through together or you can take along a friend for support. But before seeing both of you, the health adviser will usually want to see you briefly on your own first.
If the clinic finds you have an infection, you may be asked to see the health adviser. This is so that you can talk about:
- what the infection is and how it’s treated
- how you got it and how to avoid getting it again
- what having it means for other people you have sex with
- different ways your sexual partners can be advised to have a check-up.
Health advisers provide a confidential service. You can ask them not to put into your clinic notes the things you talk to them about.
This article was last reviewed on: 21/10/11
Date due for next review: 21/10/13
