Cognitive Therapy with an HIV-Positive Depressed Gay Man

Abstract

Clinicians may be increasingly called upon to work with HIV-positive clients. Although cognitive therapy has proven efficacious with a broad range of populations, limited information is available on the application of cognitive therapy to HIV-positive clients. This article will describe the case of an HIV-positive gay man seen for cognitive therapy, as part of a research protocol. This case was chosen for several reasons: (1) to demonstrate how to address specific HIV-related issues in cognitive therapy (e.g., disclosing to family, coping with illness progression), (2) to illustrate how to work with multiple levels of cognitions in a short time period, and (3) to show how to work with long-held beliefs within the context of HIV.