Skills training - HIV counselling guidelines series
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HIV counselling series. Number 01
When someone discovers they are infected with HIV, they face a difficult decision about whether to tell anyone. If they opt for disclosure, they may need the support of a counsellor. They will need to decide who to tell, how and when to tell them. Disclosure is to be encouraged, but it is important that clients take time to think through the issues carefully. Their choices can have major implications to their lives and loved ones.
These guidelines are developed from the direct experiences of people living with HIV and AIDS. They are to help those who may be called upon to counsel or support people who are either thinking about disclosure or who are trying to cope with finding out that they are HIV positive.
These guidelines raise key issues and share practical hints. They are designed to promote informed choices about disclosing HIV status and improving coping strategies following disclosure.
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HIV counselling series. Number 02
Child sexual abuse is the involvement of a child in any sexual activity that the child does not understand; that the child is unable to give informed consent to; that the child is not developmentatlly prepared for and cannot give consent to; and that violates the lows or social norms of a society.
Child sexual abuse occurs prior to the legally recognised age of consent. We need to understand here that there are power dynamics at play in child sexual abuse (WHO).
Child sexual abouse occurs when a child is used by an adult or an older more knowledgeable child for sexual pleasure. It can be physical, verbal or emotional.
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HIV counselling series. Number 03
Many people find it difficult to talk to relatives or friends about dying. The diagnosis of a terminal illness is a traumatic event and patients are often overwhelmed by their thoughts, fears and feelings. A counsellor can provide the information and emotional support they need.
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HIV counselling series. Number 04
Most people think that domestic violence involves only physical assault, harm and injury. Counsellors, however, need to recognise that domestic violence includes many forms of abuse. Most of the time they occur together and sometimes there is a progression from one to the other.
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HIV counselling series. Number 05
Talking about survival skills is a vital part of HIV counselling. It helps people understand that their life is not over because a laboratory test has found that they are infected with HIV.
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HIV counselling series. Number 06
AIDS counselling can mean different things to different people. It is therefore important to agree on what it aims to achieve.
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HIV counselling series. Number 07
Throughout southern Africa, HIV and AIDS have affected millions of children. Many have already become orphans or are caring for sick parents, grandparents, siblings or other relatives. Many more have had their school and community life changed beyond recognition.
Meanwhile, other children are themselves infected with HIV, and often have to cope with ill health combined with social stigma. In some cases, such children experience the double trauma of coping with their own HIV status while also having lost their parents, brothers or sisters.
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HIV counselling series. Number 08
Working on HIV and AIDS is not easy, especially for people working on the frontline of the epidemic in community groups and NGOs that provide information, give emotional support and care for the sick. It is particularly difficult for staff and volunteers who are infected with HIV or affected by HIV and AIDS. In these situations, workers and careers are likely to feel the stress of pressures of their jobs, responsibilities or health status.
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HIV counselling series. Number 09
These guidelines focus on men who have sex with men.
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HIV counselling series. Number 10
Some clients will come to you because they are worried about contracting or transmitting HIV. This is a clear request for counselling on issues relating to HIV prevention.
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HIV counselling series. Number 11
Nearly half of the people in the world are under the age of 25, with one in three people aged between 10 and 24 years. Youth are most at risk of HIV infection and other sexual health problems. These include unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The HIV pandemic has made us think about how and when to have sex in a way that is healthy for our partners and ourselves. This includes knowing how to say 'no' to sex when we do not want it.
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HIV counselling series. Number 12
This booklet deals with treatment counselling. Counselling is a structured conversation between two or more people. These people are a client (or clients) and a counsellor. The aim of this conversation is to help the client work through a particular problem or situation that he or she has.
Why is treatment counselling important?
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HIV counselling series. Number 13
This book has been written to help you counsel couples and individuals who are planning to become pregnant, or who have recently discovered that they are pregnant. The couple or individual may or may not yet know their HIV status. As a counsellor, you could find yourself in a number of different counselling situations, with a number of different counselling goals.
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HIV counselling series. Number 14
A volunteer is a person who does work for an organisation without being paid for it. People can volunteer for many different types of work in many different types of organisations. These guidelines have been written to help you to counsel volunteers who work in the area of HIV and AIDS.