Support Well-being: Doctors/Therapists Talk Sexuality with Patients

By Tirachard at Envato Elements.

Some initial things to note:

There is nothing wrong with asexuality! If someone comes out to you with that label or just says that they don't have or want to have sex, affirm them. Let them know that there's no problem with that but that you're available if they ever end up in a situation where they’re having sex.
For that matter, let your sexually active patients/clients know that you'll support them, too, if they ever decide not to have sex.
Follow your patients'/clients' lead with how to refer to their body parts, especially body parts related to sex. Tools such as this one are a great way of learning how people refer to their body parts. You'll be more likely to get your point across and to minimize their discomfort or embarrassment.

A young Dominican lesbian couple stands outside in the winter, wearing hats and coats. One is taking a selfie as the other kisses her cheek.

By Ladanifer at Envato Elements.

First, educate yourself! Start with R2T2's resources on safer sex and HIV.

Keep in mind that you're not the expert in your patient's/client’s life. They are.

For therapists, specifically:

Keep in mind that you should not bring up these topics even if your client disclosed that they're queer or trans in an intake session or exploratory conversation. Wait for them to raise sexual orientation or gender identity in their own time. And then follow their lead for what they want to discuss.
You want to keep your client coming back so you can help them. One way to work against that goal is to bring up a topic before your client is ready to discuss it. Trust the process! It will come up naturally after you've established trust.
You can also check in with your supervisor or mentor to get further support and guidance on the best approach — as long as they're queer- and trans-friendly themselves.

This includes for your young patients/clients, those over 55, and those who are disabled. Yes, this is a website about young people. But this is so important for older folx, too.

For your patients/clients of any age, talk with those who are sexually active about PrEP.

For medical providers, offer HIV testing if that seems appropriate, unless you already have an opt-out HIV testing policy.

Doctors having these conversations with parents around could be pretty challenging — or likely impossible. You'll need to feel out that situation on a case-by-case basis.

Something to consider is the age at which teens in your community can legally consent to their own medical care. Is there room here to get a few minutes alone with your patients who are at or over that age? Can you make this a routine part of care for all teens so that it doesn't raise any flags for parents? That could be touchy, too, depending on the parent. So this would be another "feel it out" situation.

Therapists will have an easier time here since they likely see their young clients without parents in the room.

For doctors and therapists looking for an epidemiological perspective, AIDSVu has a fantastic map of the HIV epidemic. Once there, you'll see multiple filters along the top gray bar. The first is age, the first option of which is 13-24. After your filtered map loads, you'll be able to see county-level data about the youth HIV epidemic in the US.