Our New Book:
In this book the author has collected stories, which he has often told in his therapeutic work – during individual therapy sessions with clients as well as in group trainings. These stories have already often contributed to helping people open themselves again
Our New Book:
In this book the author has collected stories, which he has often told in his therapeutic work – during individual therapy sessions with clients as well as in group trainings. These stories have already often contributed to helping people open themselves again and be deeply touched by others. [Information]
More than a dozen years have passed since the medical world determined that a new virus was attacking the immune system. It was named HIV, for human immune deficiency, a precursor to the development of AIDS. Since 1981 more than 160,000 Americans have died from the disease, and it is estimated that at least two Million more Americans are infected. To date there is no cure.
I think it is difficult for members of the General Population to take in the magnitude of this destruction. A further issue involves the nature of those stricken. Approximately sixty percent of the infected are either homosexual or bi-sexual men. Among the homosexual men of New York City and San Francisco, current estimates by public health officials suggest that approximately fifty percent are HIV positive or have AIDS. The implication is that unless a cure is found, they will all die. If we extrapolate this percentage to the total heterosexual Population of the United States we could anticipate over one hundred million deaths.
I can think of no comparable public health crisis of this magnitude for a specific social group. I am reminded of the polio epidemics of the 1930's and 40's. However the numbers were much smaller, and the spread of polio was throughout the Population. During the great influenza epidemic of 1918-19, a greater number of people died, once again among the General Population. Moreover, the epidemic, as severe as it was, lasted only two years, although of course its aftereffects continued as individuals were orphaned or families were destroyed. However the carnage, the dying, lasted for only a two year period.
What is different about the AIDS crisis? In the near future an entire community stands to lose half of its Population. Furthermore this special Population despite recent shifts in attitude remains the subject of unrelenting social and political discrimination. In some cities instances' homophobia and attendant gay-bashing have increased as a result if fears engendered by AIDS.
Unfortunately, scientists still remain helpless about critical aspects of the AIDS virus and its manifestations. Although life'has been prolonged for many of those with the disease, many of the individual ailments continue to resist treatment. There appears to be no natural history of the disease; as it unfolds, the individuals infected with the virus often suffer repeated hospitalizations, possibly accompanied by wasting, severe disfigurement, blindness, paralysis, madness.
As a psychotherapist during this period I have treated a number of men who have died, their partners, their friends and some of their families. I have not treated any women or children with AIDS, which is an artifact of my clientele. But I believe my work with gay men is equally relevant to the treatment of women. The traditional practice of psychotherapy needs to be altered because of the special aspects of AIDS and the remaining material is devoted to explicating these changes.
In thirty years of office practice I have encountered only one patient who died while I was treating him, a man with cancer. Subsequently, during the last twelve years approximately one hundred men of my acquaintance have either died or are known to be to infected with the HIV virus. I led a therapy group composed of gay men for more than twenty years. Forty-six percent of this group have by now died or are known to be infected. Illness and mourning have become the staples of my therapeutic work with gay men. What are the implications of these harsh facts for treatment? First, I have shifted my concept of what treatment is. Previously I strove to enable individuals to take control of their lives, to overcome traumas from the past and find suitable ways to enjoy their future, to feel in charge of their destiny. I often quoted Freud's statement, "History is not destiny." However, today a history of HIV- infection does indicate destiny. Those infected will surely die in the not too distant future. Their days are truly numbered. Although a few men may survive twelve years from the original infection, the majority now live only two to three years.
Today, therapists can no longer entertain the hopeful premise that through their efforts the infected will come to lead a happy, healthy, prosperous life. Instead, we have the melanch