Week5DiscussionSOCW6362 Discussion:Counseling Clients with HIV/AIDS

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the resources.
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and HIV/AIDS in particular, are physical health conditions that can have a profound impact on a client’s psychological and relationship functioning. For example, a psychological impact may be that the client feels shame or guilt for having acquired the infection. An example of a relationship impact may be that a client’s disclosing to his or her partner that he or she has the infection may lead to suspicion or mistrust within the couple’s relationship.

Helping professionals also may hold certain biases and assumptions or have particular emotional responses to clients with STIs, specifically HIV/AIDS. These may relate to the client’s prognosis for meeting treatment goals, the helping professional’s level of hope for the client to have a satisfying life, and/or stereotypes about how these infections are acquired. Left unexamined, these biases, assumptions, and emotional reactions can impact a helping professional’s ability to work effectively with a client with an STI, including HIV/AIDS.

Learning Resources:
Levine, S. B., Risen, C. B., & Althof, S. E. (Eds.). (2016). Handbook of clinical sexuality for mental health professionals (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

Chapter 22, “Recognizing and Reversing Sexual Side Effects of Medications” (pp. 273-284)
Chapter 19, “Challenges of Sexual Life After Breast and Prostate Cancer” (pp. 285-249)
Golin, C., Davis, R., Przybyla, S., Fowler, B., Parker, S., Earp, J., & … Grodensky, C. (2010). SafeTalk, a multicomponent, motivational interviewing-based, safer sex counseling program for people living with HIV/AIDS: A qualitative assessment of patients’ views. AIDS Patient Care & STDs, 24(4), 237–245.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Horan, S. M. (2016). Further understanding sexual communication: Honesty, deception, safety, and risk. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 33449–468.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Medline. (2017). Sexually transmitted diseases. Retrieved from https://medlineplus.gov/sexuallytransmitteddiseases.html