solved Discussion: Counseling Clients With HIV/AIDSSexually transmitted infections (STIs), and HIV/A

Discussion: Counseling Clients With HIV/AIDSSexually transmitted infections (STIs), and HIV/AIDS in particular, are physical health conditions that can have a profound impact on a client’s psychological and relationship functioning. For example, a psychological impact may be that the client feels shame or guilt for having acquired the infection. An example of a relationship impact may be that a client’s disclosing to his or her partner that he or she has the infection may lead to suspicion or mistrust within the couple’s relationship.Helping professionals also may hold certain biases and assumptions or have particular emotional responses to clients with STIs, specifically HIV/AIDS. These may relate to the client’s prognosis for meeting treatment goals, the helping professional’s level of hope for the client to have a satisfying life, and/or stereotypes about how these infections are acquired. Left unexamined, these biases, assumptions, and emotional reactions can impact a helping professional’s ability to work effectively with a client with an STI, including HIV/AIDS.By Day 4Post by Day 4 two potential helping professional reactions to a client who has HIV/AIDS. Explain how each reaction might influence the helping professional’s perceptions of the psychological and relational impact of HIV/AIDS when working with the client.Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the resources.By Day 6Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.Respond by Day 6 to at least two of your colleagues’ postings, sharing or validating an insight gained from your reading using your professional experiences.Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you learned and/or any insights you gained as a result of your colleagues’ comments.Colleague 1: TyrusTwo potential helping professional reactions to a client who has HIV/AIDSBefore conducting any screening, assessment, or treatment planning, counselors should reevaluate their personal attitudes, biases and experiences in working with HIV-infected clients. For instance, a service provider may feel comfortable working with a young Asian American male with a history of alcohol use, yet the same provider may not be at all comfortable with a pregnant Hispanic woman who is an active injection drug user and wishes to have her baby (SAMHSA, 2000). In addition, a provider may feel uncomfortable working with a homeless person who has HIV/AIDS versus a wealthy client who has the same disease.Explain how each reaction might influence the helping professional’s perceptions of the psychological and relational impact of HIV/AIDS when working with the client.It is vital that counselors be aware of any of their own attitudes or biases that might intervene with helping a client be successful. It is important the helping professionals show countertransference, which is a set of thoughts, feelings, and beliefs experienced by a service provider that occurs in response to the client. When a counselor can deal with a client in a sensitive, empathic manner, there is a much greater chance that both will have a positive and successful encounter (SAMHSA, 2000). If the professional gets to know each client that they serve, they can build the rapport that they need in order to get the client to open up and share how it has affected them emotionally, mentally and physically. Some professionals might need to seek additional specialized training, in order to work with a certain population of HIV/AIDS infected clients such as: drug users, homosexuals, or born infected clients. In addition, they must be aware of the different ethnic cultures and how to relate to them. References: Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. Substance Abuse Treatment for Persons with HIV/AIDS. Rockville (MD): Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US); 2000. (Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series, No. 37.) Chapter 7—Counseling Clients With HIV And Substance Abuse Disorders. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK64930Colleague 2: Stephanie The Influence of Social Workers Reactions to HIV/AIDS in Helping these ClientsIndividuals with HIV/AIDS are apart of a population that has experienced being neglected and stigmatized by society. Social stigmas, homophobia, and lack of education have caused many People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) to feel like outcasts in their own families and communities (Perez, 2013). Social workers may have a false perception of what it means to be PLWHAs. For example, they may believe HIV/AIDS is always associated with death and begins end-of-life counseling and questions without understanding the issue. While there is no cure for the disease at this time, there are many medical advancements that prevent the disease from spreading as fast and have prolonged many lives (Britton, 2009). Social workers may also associate HIV/AIDS with some behaviors they don’t’ personally approve of, such as homosexuality, drug use, prostitutes, or infidelity.The Influence of Social Workers Perceptions of the Psychological and Relational Impact of HIV/AIDS Clients Social workers who are not competent with PLWHAs can cause serious harm to this already vulnerable population. The World Health Organization (WHO) cites fear of stigma and discrimination as the main reason people are reluctant to get tested, disclose their HIV status, and take antiretroviral drugs (Britton, 2009). Lacking competence in evoking discrimination sometimes unintentionally causes individuals to be hesitant to talk about the problems and get appropriate counseling and health care. According to standard 4.02 of the Code of Ethics, social workers should not practice, condone, facilitate, or collaborate with any form of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, political belief, religion, immigration status, or mental or physical disability (NASW, 2017). This standard includes discrimination based on a client’s HIV/AIDS status. Social workers should seek supervision as necessary to address any conflicts or concerns.ReferencesBritton, P. J., Ph.D. (2009). Teaching Tip Sheet: Counselor Attitude Bias. https://www.apa.org. https://www.apa.org/pi/aids/resources/education/counselor-biasKaplan, L. E., PH.D., LCSW, Murray, A., LICSW, & Tomaszewski, E. P., MSW. (2019). 8 Ethical Considerations for Working with People Affected by HIV/AIDS. NASW – National Association of Social Workers. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Ethics-Education-and-Resources/Ethics-8/Working-with-People-Affected-by-HIV-AIDSNASW. (2017, August 4). Highlighted Revisions to the Code of Ethics. NASW – National Association of Social Workers. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Highlighted-Revisions-to-the-Code-of-EthicsPerez, J. V., LMSW. (2013, September 29). Social Work in an HIV/AIDS Clinic. The New Social Worker: The Social Work Careers Magazine. https://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/practice/Social_Work_in_an_HIV-AIDS_Clinic/