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Arora Suhani Gagan: Adolescent Healthcare Requires Sensitivity and Professional Responsibility

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Nov 3, 2026, 16:29

Arora Suhani Gagan: Adolescent Healthcare Requires Sensitivity and Professional Responsibility

Arora Suhani Gagan, Founder and Counselling and Wellness Practitioner at Tanoshii Cosmos, shared on LinkedIn:

“Day 24/30 | The Healthcare Struggles Women Rarely Talk About

She Was Only 16. She Needed Medical Help. But She Was More Afraid of Her Parents Finding Out.

Imagine this hospital situation.

A 16-year-old girl visits a government hospital with her older sister.

She has been experiencing a sensitive reproductive-health concern.

But she is afraid to explain her symptoms.

When a healthcare professional offers to speak with her, she quietly asks:

Will you tell my parents everything?

She is worried about being scolded.

She fears being judged.

And she does not know whether she can discuss her health concerns without getting into trouble.

Now imagine the difficult position of the healthcare professional.

The girl needs appropriate medical care.

She also needs to feel safe enough to communicate.

But she is a minor, and healthcare professionals must consider applicable consent, child-protection and reporting requirements.

This situation raises an important question.

How can hospitals encourage adolescents to seek healthcare without making promises about confidentiality that professionals may not legally be able to keep?

As I continue learning about Hospital Counselling and Medical Social Work, I am understanding that adolescent healthcare requires sensitivity and professional responsibility.

A healthcare team may need to consider:

Explaining confidentiality and its limits in age-appropriate language.
Listening without blaming or shaming.
Understanding the adolescent’s immediate health concerns.
Assessing whether there are safety or safeguarding concerns.
Following applicable consent and child-protection laws.
Involving appropriately trained professionals.
Considering safe and appropriate family involvement.
Ensuring timely medical care and necessary referrals.

In India, sensitive disclosures involving minors may create specific legal responsibilities, including under child-protection laws such as POCSO.

A hospital counsellor or medical social worker should never promise absolute secrecy or independently decide to ignore mandatory reporting obligations.

At the same time, a young person should not be made to feel punished for seeking healthcare.

Clear communication, compassion and appropriate safeguarding can exist together.

One thought I want to carry into my professional journey:

An adolescent should not have to choose between asking for medical help and feeling emotionally safe.

And professional responsibility means protecting both the young person’s dignity and their safety within the law.

As an MSW graduate with a PG Diploma in Counselling, I am interested in strengthening my understanding of adolescent health, child protection, safeguarding and hospital-based psychosocial support.

I am also exploring fresher-friendly Hospital Counselling and Medical Social Work opportunities in Delhi NCR.”

Other articles featuring Arora Suhani Gagan on Fertility News.