AIDS: A Holistic Perspective

Abstract

This article explores the holistic nursing implications of the deadly disease known as AIDS. Although the current population of persons with active AIDS is relatively small, the population of potential carriers of the disease, those with positive antibodies, is estimated at two million in the U.S.A. Health care workers have a unique challenge to prepare themselves emotionally and spiritually to deal with the expanding prevalence of the disease in clinics, mental health centers, and hospitals. A transpersonal perspective, enabling the caregiver to move with compassion toward these patients and their families, is needed to deal maturely with the social paranoia and prejudice that currently accompanies AIDS.

Spiritual Wellness for Clients With HIV/AIDS: Review of Counseling Issues

“…It is incumbent upon the counselor to work through and address countertransference issues regarding HIV/AIDS clients and spirituality to prevent the work from being impeded. One issue that may arise for counselors concerns personal anxiety about death and dying and the related spiritual implications (Dworkin & Pincu, 1993;Hover-Kramer, 1988;Otten, 1990;Sherr, 1996;Smith, 1993). This can be revealed as an avoidance of the topic in sessions, or conversely, an over-focusing on death as an attempt to relieve inner anxiety (Sherr, 1996).…”