Department of Counseling

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Counseling services are offered to all patients in the outdoor, indoor and BMT unit of the Centre as well as for daycare chemotherapy and transfusion units.

The services offered are as follows:

  • Medical counseling of children and adults living with thalassemia and related hemoglobinopathies, children with cancers and other blood disorders including hemophilia, ITP, other bleeding disorders, anemias, etc.
    • The patients and families are apprised about the disease, its course, treatment and outcomes
    • Psycho-social counseling (Issues like anxiety, depression etc.)
    • Behavioral counseling
    • Compliance is emphasized for treatment including taking the prescribed medications, regular transfusions as per appointments as advised by the medical team and regular follow ups
    • Diet and exercise related advise is given
    • Discharge counseling is done for all admitted patients before they are discharged from the hospital.
  • Genetic Counseling
    • For hereditary disorders such as thalassemia, sickle cell anemia, hemophilia, Fanconi’s anemia etc.
    • Antenatal screening counseling is done as per need for these disorders
  • Counseling for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
    • Pre-transplant counseling is done with emphasis on mental preparation of the patient and the family to stay in the BMT room for 20 to 25 days without physical access to the outside world
    • Procedure is explained to both the patient and the family with special reference to the donor, allaying anxiety about the safety of the procedure done in the donor too!
    • The outcomes are explained in context of the type of transplant – autologous/allogeneic and donor type as well as the disease for which it is being done
    • Discharge counseling is done in detail for them to understand the advice to be followed at home
  • Hygiene counseling
    • Proper handwashing technique
    • Maintaining sanitary hygiene
    • Drinking boiled cooled water
    • Eating cooked foods
    • Avoiding all outside foods
  • Career and Educational counseling
    • Sessions are held with invited career counselors to help children and adults choose their further careers as per their interest and potential
    • They are encouraged to discuss issues with their performance at school and college and assisted in improving it through psychosocial counseling and peer counseling
  • Marriage counseling
    • Those interested in marriage are encouraged to discuss and counseled regarding
      • Their anxieties about a suitable partner
      • Their ability to cope with additional responsibilities due to marriage
    • They are counseled regarding their prospects of parenting, given their disease diagnosis and status
  • Daycare group and individual counseling sessions are performed (Education, career, treatment compliance, hygiene etc.)
  • Art and Play therapy are offered to children for learning about their disease in an enjoyable manner
  • Patient groups are formed to facilitate peer counseling and conduct fun activities during occasions and festivals

The counseling department also takes the responsibility of planning and organizing various cultural activities with help of the cultural committee for staff members of the Centre. This helps in creating a team spirit while having an opportunity to display individual talents as well as help connect staff of various departments.