Counseling Center is one of the departments in St. Joseph’s Hospital kitgum that was introduced in the year 2000 when HIV prevalence in Kitgum district was ranking among the highest with 9.3% for PMTCT and 16% for VCT. The center was constructed with the support from a Comboni Rev. Sir called Miranda from Italy, named after a Comboni Priest called Rev. Fr. Dr. Albert Manuel Grau who greatly contributed in expanding the hospital. The center was officially opened by the German Ambassador to Uganda on the 18th March 2000in the presence of Archbishop of Gulu who was the hospital chairman Board of governors. The center was constructed with the purpose of providing HIV/AIDS education, HIV/AIDS preventive and supportive counseling to the youths of kitgum, Lamwo, and Pader districts who were living in people’s concentrated camps due to over 20 years of insurgency caused  by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)that led to Acholi traditional moral decay

The center has 9 counseling rooms with one mini laboratory and a store. Its well equipped with furniture required for HIV/AIDS education, preventive and supportive counseling both for adults and children. Clients in the center are handled with a lot of confidentiality and empathy. The center is also handling suicidal tendency and drug addicted cases among others.

The followings are the activities being done in St. Joseph’s Hospital Counseling Center:

Staffing:

St. Joseph’s Hospital Counseling Center is headed by an in charge who is an enrolled midwife by profession and a trained HIV/AIDS counselor. She works together with her team and below are different cedars

Students from Universities and higher institutions in Uganda who are pursuing Guidance and Counseling, Social work and Administration among other disciplines are drown to the center for their practicum.

Reporting:

· Daily data collection

· Monthly compilation of reports

· Annual compilation of reports