RFSU clinic
The RFSU clinic offers people of all age groups contraception counseling and STI (Sexually Transmitted Infections) prevention. It is also one of the few places in Sweden where people with problems related to sexuality can seek advice and therapy. Furthermore it is a nursery for new methods for working with SRHR-related issues.
About us
The RFSU clinic is located in central Stockholm, together with the RFSU headquarters. The clinic is an organizational unit in its own right, and is open throughout the year, both during day time and evenings.
The staff consists of a senior physician, midwifes, nurses, secretaries and psychotherapists. Some of them also work within Stockholm County Council’s health care system, a system letting the clinic benefit from their experiences of public health care, and spreading RFSU’s approaches to sexual issues to other parts of the community.
Three orientations
- Contraception counselling and STI (Sexually Transmitted Infections) prevention
- Sexual counselling and psychotherapy
- Outreach and education
The RFSU clinic has always been a pioneer in the field of sexuality and the focus of clinical activities changes constantly in response to the shifting needs of the community. A considerable amount of work is conducted as programmes. Initiatives often come from staff members, who detect needs among the people they are advising. Experiences made from the programmes are often transformed into educational packages or courses for health care personnel. The programmes are evaluated and documented in articles, pamphlets and books, sometimes in several languages.
The sexual-medical section of the clinic works in close collaboration with its sexual-counselling/psychotherapeutic counterpart. Many programmes are performed jointly.
Examples:
- Helping women who do not dare to undergo a gynaecological examination or who seek help for pain during sexual intercourse. The method employed involves a combination of medical examination, treatment and counselling.
- Giving people with physical or learning disabilities access to contraception and sexual counselling. This project has generated an interest in further training among various groups of caring professionals.
- Physical examinations of young girls prior to the investigation of sexual assaults. The RFSU clinic is regarded as offering a friendlier environment than a hospital or institution of forensic medicine.
- Spreading knowledge of emergency contraception or the “morning-after pill”, and on how it should be used.
Clinical courses
The clinic has provided courses in i.e. several African countries and China in collaboration with local family planning organizations. Participation in training conferences takes place on a regular basis in various European countries, e.g. Russia, Finland, France and Estonia.