All counselling should be nonjudgemental. Perhaps it is never more important than in this situation when the patient with an unplanned pregnancy may already be feeling guilty or expecting disapproval. Patients may be distressed, angry or abusive. The feelings may be very intense and directed at clinic staff. It is important to acknowledge and try to understand, rather than react to the behaviour or try to smooth it over. The doctor with psychosexual training is not immune to feeling angry, threatened, sad or at a loss to know what to do, but he or she can sit back, think and listen and use these feelings as evidence of the patient’s feelings and by interpretation help them understand their problem.

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