In today’s contentious political environment surrounding abortion, clinicians, counselors and social workers need a clear framework for providing skilled, compassionate decision counseling. They need help working with the hard stuff: “What do I do when my patient asks me if God will forgive her?” or “What do I say when a woman says that she feels like she’s killing her baby?” These are the questions asked by clinicians and mental health professionals everywhere; these are also the questions for which this book offers answers. The fields of healthcare and counseling psychology have long-awaited a manual for conducting pregnancy decision counseling across the spectrum of patient issues, employee skill levels, and clinic resources.
Using case examples, individual and group exercises, guided self-reflection, and values clarification, the reader will develop the necessary skills to provide compassionate and informed pregnancy decision counseling. This book will define the gold standard for decision assessment and counseling for all pregnancy options and will be cited as the definitive guide for learning, teaching, and providing high-quality, compassionate counseling in abortion and family planning clinics nationwide.
In today’s contentious political environment surrounding abortion, clinicians, counselors and social workers need a clear framework for providing skilled, compassionate decision counseling. They need help working with the hard stuff: “What do I do when my patient asks me if God will forgive her?” or “What do I say when a woman says that she feels like she’s killing her baby?” These are the questions asked by clinicians and mental health professionals everywhere; these are also the questions for which this book offers answers. The fields of healthcare and counseling psychology have long-awaited a manual for conducting pregnancy decision counseling across the spectrum of patient issues, employee skill levels, and clinic resources.
Using case examples, individual and group exercises, guided self-reflection, and values clarification, the reader will develop the necessary skills to provide compassionate and informed pregnancy decision counseling. This book will define the gold standard for decision assessment and counseling for all pregnancy options and will be cited as the definitive guide for learning, teaching, and providing high-quality, compassionate counseling in abortion and family planning clinics nationwide.
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Transforming the Way We Think About Ourselves
and Our Work
What is Abortion Counseling?
The Decision Assessment
Decision Counseling for Emotional Conflict
Decision Counseling for Spiritual Conflict
Decision Counseling for Moral Conflict
Decision Counseling for Ambivalence
Understanding Informed Consent
Decision Counseling for Positive Pregnancy Test Results
Bibliography
Index
Alissa C. Perrucci, PhD, MPH is a Chief Community Health Program Manager in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco.
For some women, counseling at the time of pregnancy termination is
more important than the medical care they receive. It models the
personal encounters that they have a right to expect, normalizing
the experience and supporting them despite what others may think
about abortion. Whether you are a counselor, receptionist, medical
assistant, ultrasonographer, autoclave technician, clinician, or
administrator, Dr. Alissa Perrucci’s book will help you contribute
to this transformative experience. She describes an innovative
approach and framework that is based both on her training as a
psychologist and her practical experience as a counselor and
administrator. I recommend her book as a truly revolutionary guide
for clarifying, deepening, and expanding abortion counseling
through purposeful normalization. Dr. Perrucci describes how
empathy, care, compassion and respect that take place in the clinic
create positive change about how we think and feel about women,
abortion, and the value of human life.
*Philip D. Darney, MD, MSc,, Distinguished Professor of Obstetrics,
Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San
Francisco*
Perrucci states: The patient has the answers; you are there as her
witness, her guide, and her support. This profoundly important
philosophy establishes a platform from which any counselor can work
effectively with even the most complex and difficult of life
situations and emotional and spiritual issues. Perrucci provides a
simple structure and gives tough true-to-life examples to
illustrate how the counselor can be effective even when assisting
women with the toughest choices.
I am very excited to be able to make this text available to
counselors working in our member clinics, and to spread the word
throughout the broader health care field. Even those who don’t work
directly in the provision of abortion can learn a lot about
effective listening and reframing from this wonderful book.
*Charlotte Taft, Director, Abortion Care Network*
Alissa’s work has influenced the way we train over the last decade,
and this book will be a fantastic resource for students, residents,
and providers alike. It provides a useful and discerning framework
for approaching women making reproductive decisions. Particularly
invaluable are the nuanced counseling examples for women
experiencing conflict and ambivalence, with demonstrations of ways
to achieve greater levels of support and understanding.
*Suzan Goodman M.D. M.P.H., Director, TEACH Program and Associate
Clinical Professor, University of California, San Francisco*
Perrucci's book is a significant contribution to counseling and
raises our understanding of the special care we can offer women in
the throes of a pregnancy decision. Her method empowers the people
doing this work everyday to use basic skills to help women clarify
what is best for their lives.
*Margaret Johnston, Creator of the Pregnancy Options Workbooks and
Network Programming Chair of the Abortion Care Network*
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