Talking to a health professional

If you have questions about your sex life or relationship or if you have a problem, you can talk to various health professionals. For example: a doctor, nurse, gynaecologist, midwife, sexologist, therapist, psychologist.

If necessary, the health professional can refer you to a specialist. A psychologist/psychotherapist can help you if you are dealing with depression, living with HIV or have relationship problems.
Women can also go directly to a gynaecologist. For instance: for a pregnancy or vaginal infection.

You can talk to a health professional about almost every intimate issue. For example:

• Pregnancy.
• Family planning and contraception.
• Sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
• Partner violence.
• Relationship problems.
• Sexual problems.

If you want to talk with a health professional, these tips may be handy:

• Think about the problem or question you want to discuss.
• Think about what you want from the health professional. For instance: do you want advice, an STI test or a referral to a specialist?
• Make it clear if the topic is difficult for you to talk about.
• Describe your problem or question as specifically as possible. For example: "I am not able to get an erection."
• You can take someone you trust with you, so that they can help you.

It often seems difficult to talk about intimate topics with a health professional, but this is part of their job. They know these topics well. There is no need to feel embarrassed.

Your privacy is respected when talking to a health professional. Professionals maintain confidentiality with whatever information you choose to share with them.