Session 4: Family Planning Counseling (BCS+)
- Updated 9/1/2021
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Overview
This session describes family planning counseling and how to use the Balanced Counseling Strategy (BCS+) job aids to assist a client in making an informed decision about whether to use contraception and which method to choose.
Objectives
By the end of this unit, participants will:
- Provide family planning counseling, particularly during crisis situations.
- Describe the four stages of the Balanced Counseling Strategy (BCS+) for family planning.
- Practice how to use the BCS+ job aids to assist a client in making an informed decision about whether and which contraceptive method to choose.
Timing & Methodology
Total: 180 minutes (3 hours)
- 20 minutes: Facilitator Presentation: Introduction to Family Planning Counseling
- 40 minutes: Demonstration and Role Play: BCS+ Model
- 100 minutes: Role Plays: Counseling Practice
- 20 minutes: Group Discussion: Debrief and Closing
Preparation
- Print, download, and gather materials
- Make sure there are enough of the BCS+ Method Brochures and Counseling Cards for each pair of participants
- Ensure that participants in the group have different role plays. Feel free to make up your own scripts or roles
- Ensure that there is enough space in the training room to role play
Resources Available Online
- Refer to the Facilitator’s Guide for the Detailed Session Guide and list of materials needed for this unit
- Presentation
- Participant Workbook
The Balanced Counseling Strategy Plus: A Toolkit for Family Planning Service Providers Working in High HIV/STI Prevalence Settings (Third Edition)
The Balanced Counseling Strategy Plus (BCS+) toolkit, developed and tested in Kenya and South Africa, provides the information and materials that healthcare providers need to offer complete, high-quality family planning counseling to clients living in areas with high rates of HIV and STIs. The BCS+ was adapted from the Balanced Counseling Strategy (León 1999; León et al. 2003a, b, c; León, Vernon, Martin, and Bruce 2008). The first edition of the Balanced Counseling Strategy and Balanced Counseling Strategy Plus toolkits are products of the Population Council’s FRONTIERS program, supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Cooperative Agreement HRN-A-00-98-00012-00.
Delivering Contraceptive Services in Humanitarian Settings: New Tool for Front-line Health Care Workers
WHO has launched a new tool intended for front-line health care providers to help women initiate contraception in humanitarian and emergency settings.
Medical Eligibility Criteria Wheel for Contraceptive Use
This wheel contains the medical eligibility criteria for starting the use of contraceptive methods, based on Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use, 5th edition (2015), one of WHO’s evidence-based guidelines. It guides family planning providers in recommending safe and effective contraception methods for women with medical conditions or medically relevant characteristics. The wheel includes recommendations on initiating the use of nine common types of contraceptive methods.
New App for Who’s Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use
WHO has launched an App for its Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use. This digital tool will facilitate the task of family planning providers in recommending safe, effective, and acceptable contraception methods for women with medical conditions or medically relevant characteristics.