Treatment of gay and bisexual men with AIDS

An interesting aspect of AIDS, psychological issues, and HIV-infected prisoners was discussed by Benezech, Rager, Lavenu and Beylot (1988) in a study conducted at a French penitentiary. The authors noted that on-going tests of drug-addicted prisoners reveals that about 54 percent of these are HIV-infected. In their psychotherapy groups working with these prisoners, the authors found that working with the men was extremely difficult. They stated that the guilt reaction to learning that they had contracted the virus was so massive that it simultaneously reactivated a number of unconscious psycho

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of issues not confronted in traditional or standard psychotherapy. The authors characterize the primary treatment objectives to be those of reducing anxiety, alleviating depression, mobilizing healthy defenses, building coping skills, and promoting existential acceptance of the disease. The authors also note that the issues being dealt with can and do often differ as a function of the stage of the illness that patients are currently experiencing. Respectively, the issues said to be salient at each of the stages of disease progression are: diagnosis with attendant emotional crisis; stabilization involving adjustment and refocusing; deterioration with loss of hope and death and dying issues; and the terminal stage with increased need for comfort and family support. An interesting example of psychotherapeutic work with AIDS patients has been accomplished by Isaacs (1985). The author notes that as a result of the disease, patients will often experience certain stages of crisis and will, at this point, require some form of crisis therapy. Isaacs contends that if these crises are not dealt with in a swift and timely manner, certain defenses which the patient may have already deal with, will return (e.g. denial, projection, and
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Approximate Word count = 2117
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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