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 The Storm |
This course introduces therapists to HIV through the experience of Sarah, a 33 year old woman. Through Sarah's journey I hope you see the relevance of learning about HIV, because Sarah could be almost any adult client, male or female, gay or straight. We will follow Sarah's journey from the suspicion of having HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus, through the anxiety of testing, and her subsequent feelings and actions. In the Internet version of this course, Sarah's comments are in brown ink. In Sarah's own words to therapists:
"Tell them--tell everyone! Talk openly to your clients about HIV and AIDS. Educate everyone you know.""We're special, we who have HIV and AIDS. It doesn't matter to me anymore how someone got it, through sex or drugs or blood...the fact is, we are all in it together. We share the same experience, and have the same hopes and dreams. And nobody on this planet gets off alive. It is just that some of us have to look at it sooner. And maybe we're wiser, and maybe not, but judging and being judged doesn't help."
"And ask them, the therapists, to really look themselves in the mirror, and ask themselves if they are judging me. Tell them no healing happens when a person feels judged, and nobody sets out to get HIV or AIDS. Ask them if they judge children for getting measles. I am me, and I have my story, but also I am everyone, every man, every woman, every teenager and every child who has gotten HIV."
"And tell them that life is made up of many storms, big and small. Getting diagnosed HIV+ is a really big storm: a hurricane. And I know that I will have other storms in my life, some big, some small. And if I get AIDS, that will be another hurricane. But tell them that storms pass. They always do!"
| Along the way I will also share my journey as Sarah's therapist. I will share my thoughts, my countertransference reactions, and the spiritual, ethical and legal questions that arose in me. My reactions are in these boxes. |
| I wrote this course because my work with people who have HIV and AIDS has made me more human and more aware of life. Many of us choose death in small ways every day: working in unsatisfactory settings, complaining about things; yet never risking change. We all seem to get too busy. We forget to communicate from our hearts. We don't value the elders and the children in our lives. Working with people living on the edge, who are aware of 'death on their left shoulder'; has made me more conscious, more joyful, and paradoxically, more alive. |
There
is a lot on information in this course about AIDS and HIV.
When you see 
, followed
by an underlined phrase, that indicates a link. Please go to the
link for more information on a specific topic. Go to the link, then press
your BACK button on your toolbar to return to the course. You also
can add a BOOKMARK for the course. There is a Post-test
at the end, some of you might want to go there first and print it out. You must
pass the post-test to receive continuing education credit. We will mail you
a certificate upon successful completion of the course.
HIV and AIDS are affecting the entire world. Encountering clients such as Sarah, I am reminded once again of the phrase: "Remember, we are not human beings on a spiritual journey, but spiritual beings on a human journey."
I am
enormously grateful to Sarah and to other clients and friends who allowed me
to share part of their journey. Thank you. This course also wishes
to thank the many websites which granted me permission to link. You will
find these throughout the text, and in Chapter 10: References and Resources.
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