Sexual health centers provide education, prevention, and treatment services for sexual health, including STD testing, contraception, sex checkups, pregnancy counseling, and sex therapy. They also offer outreach programs, information packs, and condoms to the public. Some centers provide abortion counseling and urology services.
A sexual health center is an organization that assists the public in responsible and healthy sexuality. These centers often use educational and preventive methods to teach the community about sexual health. Centers could provide other services such as dispensing contraceptives, treating sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), sex checkups, help with responsible sex decisions, and pregnancy counseling. Sometimes a sexual health center might provide other services, such as sex therapy counseling, pregnancy care, urology, rape counseling, and abortions.
Education is a major component of most sexual health centers, for both adolescents and adults. Outreach programs reach into the community to provide information about testing for STDs and other sexual conditions. They provide information about ways to prevent STDs, such as condom use, and could demonstrate how forms of birth control are used. A representative of a sexual health center might hand out information packs and condoms to the public or place them in public areas where they can be picked up. Other family planning methods are discussed in community outreach programs, including abstinence, forms of birth control other than condoms, and vasectomy for men.
Sex checkups and pregnancy counseling are services that are often provided in a sexual health center. This includes yearly exams such as a Pap smear, providing birth control prescriptions, and helping to inform pregnant women of their pregnancy options. Some sexual health centers provide abortion counseling and miscarriages, but others do not have this service and will recommend another location. An individual can go to a sexual health center to talk about their sexuality and learn how to make responsible decisions, such as whether they are ready to enter into a sexual relationship with a partner. Testing for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), and other sexually transmitted diseases is done at many sexual health centers.
Another service that might be offered in a sexual health center is sex therapy counseling. This is done for people who have problems with their sexuality, such as painful intercourse, lack of interest, a past experience with rape, and arousal difficulties. Sex therapy is a service that can be provided to individuals or couples and is performed by a sex therapy counselor. Comprehensive pregnancy assistance is sometimes offered at sexual health centers for women who want to create a birth plan with a doctor who works at the center. When offered, urology services include physical exams for men, such as screening for testicular cancer and male infertility.
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