Counselling for HIV infection and AIDS: the past and the future

Abstract

The history of counselling in HIV infection and AIDS is reviewed and the stages in the development of the area are set out. The way in which the area has developed in the West is related to local circumstances and the need for the development of models suited to local circumstances elsewhere in the world is stressed. There are many areas of of HIV/AIDS counselling where considerable uncertainty about the right approach remains, for instance with injecting drug users and with HIV-infected pregnant women. There is a great and largely unmet need for further research in the area and some of the questions which need to be addressed are set out.

PIP: This paper reviews the history of counseling in cases of HIV infection and AIDS. The article explores the development of counseling in Western countries and stressed the need for the development of models suited to local circumstances in other parts of the globe. History revealed that there are many areas of HIV/AIDS counseling where considerable uncertainty regarding the right approach remains. Clear examples include counseling with injecting drug users and pregnant women with HIV infection. Moreover, one question, which is in dire need of attention, is the issue of the best approach to counseling individuals suffering from HIV/AIDS. A largely pragmatic approach was adopted by all counselors, but different workers have been influenced by different approaches. Even apparently simple issues are difficult to address. It is made clear that there is a strong need for further research in this area especially on establishing the relative effectiveness of the different counseling approaches.