Loss in HIV/AIDS Population & Therapy

This paper examines the concept of loss in the lives of people with HIV/AIDS. The paper beings with a discussion of why it is important to look at the concept of loss in this population. This is followed by a brief review of the literature on the experiences of loss in HIV/AIDS populations. The next section of the review examines current therapeutic strategies being used to help HIV/AIDS patients deal with issues of loss and grief; and the final section of the review examines the efficacy of therapeutic efforts in helping these patients to successfully resolve grief- and loss-related challenges and issues.

On a worldwide basis, it is estimated that there are now some 30 million people living with HIV---about one in every 100 adults in the sexually active ages of 15 to 49 worldwide (AIDS Education and Research Trust (AVERT), 1997). Globally, 11.7 million have died from this disease since the beginning of the epidemic (AVERT, 1997). While the majority of deaths have occurred in the developing world, in America, AIDS remains a serious problem. Since 1981, 633,000 adults and 385,968 children and adolescents have died of AIDS for a total of 1,018,968 people (AVERT, 1997).

According to Gallagher and Sosnov (1995), loss is one of the pivotal feelings that people living with HIV/AIDS must deal with. In many cases, not only are people with AIDS living with all of the personal losses attendant to having a terminal disease, they also

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also indicated that spiritual phenomena can often be of great assistance to certain people. And, finally, while many HIV/AIDS organizations reach out to assist the community with losses associated with HIV/AIDS, this assistance is often limited by inadequate training and lack of staff support. Current Treatment Strategies Massen (1998) reports that the most frequently used form of psychological treatment given to people living with HIV/AIDS is group therapy. Group therapy can and does, Massen reports, differ in the strategies they use to deal with loss and grief issues. For example, some groups focus on building psychosocial coping skills; other groups utilize cognitive-behavioral techniques, and still other groups use psychodynamic or psychoeducational methods. Massen (1998) argues in favor of group grief therapy for multiple loss and survival problems, within the scope of peer support groups---especially for gay men. It is noted that with gay men, the group grief therapy experiences must utilize a strategy of paying special to the influence of a low gay self-esteem on the grief process. Further, teaching men strategies for coping with survival is also said to be an important part of effective treatment in the grief group

Category: Psychology - L