As young people, it can be hard to know how to make the best decisions about sex and relationships. Sex education programs are designed to provide the information and skills necessary to make good choices about sexual health. However, sex education in schools varies based on city and school priorities and can often leave out important topics about reproductive health, such as birth control, contraception, and consent.
That’s why at Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest, we are proud to provide medically accurate and inclusive information about sexual health to all our patients and ensure our adolescent patients get the sexual and reproductive health education they need.
Since 2012, we have been providing adolescent patients age 17 and younger sensitive, non-judgmental, age-appropriate counseling and education. Our adolescent counseling and education services include information about:
- All methods of birth control, including emergency contraception, so that the patient may choose a method that is right for them
- Safe sex practices, including the importance of using condoms
- Including parents or trusted adults in their decisions to seek family planning services
- Consent and the right to say “no” to unwanted sexual activity
We want our adolescent patients to be made aware of all FDA-approved methods of birth control, how to reduce the risk for STIs, how to have safer sex using condoms, and consent. We believe every teenager should be provided with basic consent education and know that it’s okay to say “no” to any sexual activity, no matter what.
Counseling is part of our medical assistants’ regular intake with patients. However, patients who need additional support can schedule further appointments with our counseling services at our health centers.
Additional options counseling for pregnancy is available for our adolescent patients, as well as transgender services. Though we cannot provide specific hormone therapy services to patients under 18, we can talk with them about their plans and help with gender affirming services such as menstrual suppression with birth control.
We also provide crisis prevention services for youth, coercion or sexual violence services, and safety planning. If a patient doesn’t feel safe in their home, we will discuss finding a safe person in their life or connect them with shelters or programs that support youth. We can link them with various programs out in the community, like those who will provide rental assistance to live with a supportive adult in their lives.
We understand that not everyone comes from a supportive home. In California, any patient over 12 has the right to consent to their own reproductive health services, birth control, abortion, and options counseling without consent from a guardian. All health care services and education at Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest are confidential; however, we want our younger patients to know that they don’t need to make these choices by themselves. We encourage our patients to find an adult they trust to talk to about their health care decisions.
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