Counseling

Additional Services
As a vital resource for women, Hope Clinic offers additional reproductive health care services:
	Options Counseling
You may not know all the options available to you when you come to Hope. That's why you have a Hope counselor who will listen carefully to your thoughts and feelings. You'll learn that you do have a choice on: adoption, abortion and/or parenting. Importantly, the counselor will help you clarify (not sway) your feelings about these choices and your ability to deal with each one.
		With information and Hope's support, you'll be able to make an informed decision on your own without anyone telling you what you should or shouldn’t do.
All of us at Hope Clinic understand all too well the issues that surround an unplanned pregnancy. And, if you choose abortion, you'll learn about the abortion procedure and birth control methods now available to you.
Importantly, while most women cope successfully during and after their abortion experience, there are factors that predispose a woman to cope poorly. For those women, counseling is a must as well as a strong support system and if appropriate, spiritual support.

Factors that increase the probability of difficult coping after an abortion:
	1.	Feeling extreme guilt, shame, or loss and expecting to regret that she ever had the abortion and not having an effective strategy for coping.
	2.	Feeling pressured into having an abortion for someone else’s benefit (usually male partner or parent).
	3.	Believing that abortion is “killing her baby” the exact same thing as murdering a newborn.
	4.	Believing that God won't forgive and doubting either own ability to forgive herself, prolonging deep guilt and shame.
	5.	Feeling undecided 50/50 about whether or not the abortion is best but proceeding with the abortion anyway.
	6.	Finding thoughts of abortion very troubling but dealing with it by going back to old habits: blocking it out of her mind completely or drinking and using drugs rather than seeking emotional support.
	7.	Feeling no emotional support from her male partner or parent if they know about the pregnancy and having little or no support from any other friend or family member.
	8.	Having a personal history of doubting past decisions and using “if only” thinking. “If only I had the baby my boyfriend would have stayed…my mother would love me…my life would have turned out better,” etc.
	9.	Having untreated depression, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia or other emotional illness and not taking the medication or receiving proper treatment for the disorder.
	10.	Belonging to a church or believing in a religion that emphasizes a punishing God, sin and judgment rather than a loving God, forgiveness and redemption.
	11.	Blaming someone else rather than taking responsibility for making the decision.

Hope will do everything possible to support you by providing the very best medical care and compassionate understanding to help you get on with your life.

Family counseling and family planning are available at no charge for parents and partners on the day of the procedure.

Hope Clinic has counselors who speak Spanish and they can help you with your questions and concerns.