Guest guest Posted March 30, 2011 Report Share Posted March 30, 2011 Case Study 2 - Support Group The man was one of the first to start attending this support group meeting. He had earlier come for counseling. He is a married HIV+ man. For many years he has been unable to deal with his feelings of attraction towards women at the same time being HIV+. Through his youth he was in denial and refused to acknowledge his sexual preference and feelings towards ladies. When later he did he thought of it as a sin and himself a sinner. Around two years ago a strange thing started to happen. Often at work, the man would be unable to focus on work and got overwhelmed by a sense of loss and depression. The man was counseled for a period of time, during which they were able to share more about issues such as denial, discrimination, stigma, guilt, camouflage etc. as feelings many HIV+ men struggle with while growing up and that these were not unique to him. While he understood the logic, he could not get past his state of emotional disturbance. Over a period of time the counselor realized he had never met HIV+ people like him and discussed issues common with them. He was referred to a support group. After he started attending the support group, he got the opportunity to express his anguish and helplessness openly in front of other HIV+ men. This eased off the pressure a bit. He gradually became a regular and active member of the group. He takes the meetings very seriously and uses them as an opportunity to express himself, as also to hear other people and connect with their experiences. Around seven months after starting to attend the support group, the man is almost totally free of his depression. He continues to come regularly for the meetings and acknowledges the role of a support group in helping him overcome his problem. Recently however, the man got caught up in a difficult situation. He was traveling in a public transport bus with his brother in law and suddenly came face to face with the counselor. The counselor expressed great enthusiasm at this surprise encounter and asked the man how he was doing emotionally and why he had not attended the support group meeting the previous week. The man was at a loss for words since his brother in law was standing besides him. He avoided the questions as best he could and bid the counselor a quick farewell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 30, 2011 Report Share Posted March 30, 2011 Case Study 2 - Support Group The man was one of the first to start attending this support group meeting. He had earlier come for counseling. He is a married HIV+ man. For many years he has been unable to deal with his feelings of attraction towards women at the same time being HIV+. Through his youth he was in denial and refused to acknowledge his sexual preference and feelings towards ladies. When later he did he thought of it as a sin and himself a sinner. Around two years ago a strange thing started to happen. Often at work, the man would be unable to focus on work and got overwhelmed by a sense of loss and depression. The man was counseled for a period of time, during which they were able to share more about issues such as denial, discrimination, stigma, guilt, camouflage etc. as feelings many HIV+ men struggle with while growing up and that these were not unique to him. While he understood the logic, he could not get past his state of emotional disturbance. Over a period of time the counselor realized he had never met HIV+ people like him and discussed issues common with them. He was referred to a support group. After he started attending the support group, he got the opportunity to express his anguish and helplessness openly in front of other HIV+ men. This eased off the pressure a bit. He gradually became a regular and active member of the group. He takes the meetings very seriously and uses them as an opportunity to express himself, as also to hear other people and connect with their experiences. Around seven months after starting to attend the support group, the man is almost totally free of his depression. He continues to come regularly for the meetings and acknowledges the role of a support group in helping him overcome his problem. Recently however, the man got caught up in a difficult situation. He was traveling in a public transport bus with his brother in law and suddenly came face to face with the counselor. The counselor expressed great enthusiasm at this surprise encounter and asked the man how he was doing emotionally and why he had not attended the support group meeting the previous week. The man was at a loss for words since his brother in law was standing besides him. He avoided the questions as best he could and bid the counselor a quick farewell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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