THE EFFECT OF GROUP COUNSELLING ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ADJUSTMENT OF PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS IN NIGERIA

THE EFFECT OF GROUP COUNSELLING ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ADJUSTMENT OF PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

The human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) epidemic is in its third decade and has reached to alarming proportions worldwide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one million people are living with HIV with an estimated 56,300 infections happening each year in the United States. Diagnosis of HIV/AIDS via early testing along with pretest and post-test counseling is important for psychosocial stabilization and destigmatization. Risk reduction counseling as a preventive counseling method is equally important in high-risk individuals such as adolescents, substance abusers and in gay and bisexual population. The purpose of this review is to address a number of counseling strategies used for education and counseling of individuals at risk of getting HIV/AIDS and also among those who are HIV-infected.