Download the entire Article of HIV/AIDS Counselling & Support - A Social Works Perspective in one single pdf: HERE
HIV/AIDS COUNSELLING: DEFINITIONS
Counselling has been defined as a process of helping a person/people learn how to solve certain interpersonal, emotional and decisional problems. Counselling, in relation to HIV and AIDS is a confidential dialogue between a person and a care provider aimed at enabling the person cope with stress and make informed personal decisions relating to HIV and AIDS (World Health Organisation-WHO 1994).
Counselling poses an essential part of HIV antibody testing. HIV/AIDS Counselling is universally performed in two distinct phases - before (pre-test) and after testing (post-test) - regardless of the client’s HIV status. Counselling prior to the test, known as Pre-test Counselling, will help the client understand the test results and its implications. Post-test Counselling is undertaken irrespective of the test result to help the client to integrate and understand the meaning of the test result at all levels - rationally, emotionally, behaviourally, and medically (Jose & Jyothiram, 2008).
MAJOR GOALS OF HIV/AIDS COUNSELLING
The major goals of HIV/AIDS counselling are as follow:
a) Preventive: Providing counselling service and information to help prevent and mitigate the continued spread of HIV by providing information about risk behaviours that leave people vulnerable to contracting HIV infection as well as helping individuals to develop the required skills for behaviour change.
b) Supportive: Providing counselling services to help support people that are infected or affected by HIV. The support includes emotional, social and psychological help given to people who are infected by HIV and those that are affected by the virus.
c) Rehabilitative: Ensuring that clients have access to all the health services available by providing adequate referrals for treatment, care and support services.
TYPES OF HIV COUNSELLING
There are several types of counselling in relation to HIV Counselling. The essence of the different types is to provide for the different stages of the HIV infection that the infected person and the relations will go through. The types include:
a) Pre-test counselling b) Post-test counselling
c) Prevention counselling
d) Bereavement counselling
e) Crisis counselling
f) Disclosure Counselling
The Various type of HIV/AIDS Counselling are explained in the next posts….
No comments:
Post a Comment