Partners for Decision-Making

Counseling is one person helping another as they talk person-to-person. When you help a client make a decision or solve a problem, you are counseling.

Through counseling, you help clients make choices that suit them. For example, some clients are choosing family planning methods. Other clients are deciding how to avoid sexually transmitted diseases. Young clients may be choosing whether to delay sexual activity. All these clients can make better decisions with your help.

Everyone can learn good counseling. You counsel clients well when you:

• Show that you understand and care about them. Build Trust.
• Give clients useful, accurate information. Help them understand what this information means to them.
• Help clients to make their own choices, based on clear information and their own feelings, situation, and needs.
• Help them remember what to do.

Counseling often has 6 elements, or steps. Each letter in the word GATHER stands for one of these elements. Good counseling is more than covering the GATHER elements, however. A good counselor also understands the client's feelings and needs. With this understanding, the counselor adapts counseling to suit each client.

G — Greet A — Ask T — Tell H — Help E — Explain R — Return

Good counseling need not take a lot of time. Respect, attention to each client's concerns, and sometimes just a few more minutes make the difference.

Research shows that GATHER counseling works. When providers followed the GATHER approach, more clients chose family planning, and they used family planning longer. The more GATHER elements that counselors used, the more satisifed clients were with their care.

This Counseling Guide is for you, the reproductive health care provider. With this Guide, you can:

• Learn new things about counseling,
• Remember important counseling tips,
• Practice counseling skills,
• Remind yourself of important information for clients,
• Use pictures to help explain family planning methods,
• Teach other about counseling.

This Guide follows the order of the 6 GATHER elements. All 6 GATHER elements are explained briefly. Also, each GATHER element has its own page. These pages can be printed out and used separately. Each GATHER element has its own color—for example, red for A (Ask). For the Tell, Help, Explain, and Return elements of GATHER, there are charts giving specific information about the major family planning methods.

The first Population Reports Counseling Guide has been used around the world for the past 10 years. This new Guide brings important medical information up to date. Also, it includes more guidance about counseling skills. The "Suggested Exercises" and "Suggested Discussions" will help you learn and practice. See the section on tips on teaching yourself. There are various "Key Words" thoughout that can help you find out and meet clients' needs quickly.