When you have a question about your sex life or relationship or you have a problem, you can talk with different health professionals. For example: doctor, nurse, gynaecologist, midwife, therapist, psychologist…
If necessary, the health professional can refer you to a specialist. For example: a psychologist/therapist can help you in case of for example depression, living with HIV, relationship problems…
Women can also go directly to a gynaecologist. For example, in case of pregnancy, vaginal infection…
What to talk about with a health professional
You can talk to a health professional about almost every intimate issue. For example:
How to talk with a health professional
If you want to talk to a health professional, the following tips can help:
- Think about the problem or question you want to discuss;
- Think about what you want from the health professional. For example: advice, an STI test, 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’.
- Think about which words you want to use; the dictionary on this website can help you;
- You can take someone you trust with you, so that he/she 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.
