Psychosocial interventions in HIV disease

Mental health professionals increasingly encounter people affected by HIV. A chronic multistage illness, HIV infection progresses from an emotionally challenging asymptomatic stage, through physical deterioration, to inevitable death. Clinicians must be knowledgeable about both the course of the disease and its changing psychological impact. During their illness, patients experience multiple difficulties unique to their gender, sexual orientation, and cultural background. The tasks of fostering cooperation with medical treatment, modifying risky behaviors and a alleviating suffering among the diverse populations impacted by HIV require special expertise and specifically tailored psychological-educational interventions. Over the last few years, several interventions of this kind have been developed and successfully tested. This book describes them in detail, demonstrating their implementation with case examples.