For many doctors, as for their patients, sex is a private, personal and sometimes embarrassing topic. Most people have sexual anxieties or disappointments at some time in their lives, but the majority are able to overcome them or adapt to them with, if they are lucky, the help of a loving partner. However, whether we [...]

The doctor was in a quandary. He wanted to help her; wanted to ask her to bring her husband to see him, but felt alarmed by his feelings of anger towards the husband, and that he himself could do better given half a chance. To give himself time to think, he said he would make [...]

A patient who is confident about her sexuality and can be open about her sexual activity, is able to ask without embarassment for an appointment to see her own general practitioner (GP) in a clinic publicised as a ‘family planning clinic’. A person less confident may need to make an appointment for an ordinary surgery [...]

A couple came to a counselling clinic with a short note of introduction. The man was in his 30s, intelligent, sensitive and outgoing, and the woman was tiny, fair and very shy. They were accompanied by four children between 6 and 12 years. The woman gave her age as 28 but the most striking thing [...]

The decision to remain childless by one’s own actions and against one’s own instinct for parenting is hard and needs sensitive handling, with space given for the person to mourn their decision. As with all contraceptive decisions, the time needs to be right. Except for sterilization, the choices are reversible and can be reviewed. This [...]