Psychosocial Interventions in HIV Disease

As the AIDS pandemic continues to rage forward, mental health professionals will increasingly encounter individuals affected by HIV in their clinical practices; it is imperative for them to be well informed about the disease and its treatment. HIV infection is a chronic, multistage illness that progresses from an emotionally challenging asymptotic stage to physically deteriotiating and ultimately fatal stages. During the course of the illness, patients experience multiple challenges that can be unique to the stage of their illness, gender, sexual orientation, or ethnic/racial background. These challenges require flexible and effective coping skills, both specialised and general, to manage the emotional, behavioural and interpersonal disturbances that often accompany HIV illness. Patients at every stage of HIV infection need effective and focused educational and psychosocial interventions to help them cope and adjust to their illness. But because of the unique and variable characteristics of the illness, and the patients afflicted, no one universal intevention is always appropriate. The challenges of enhancing cooperation with medical treatment, modifying risky behaviours, and alleviating suffering among the diverse populations impacted by HIV require specialised expertise and the adoption of general psychological-educational interventions. Over the last few years, several interventions of this kind have been designed, developed and successfully tested. This book describes them in detail, demonstrating their implementation with case examples.