Abstract
Abstract This study explored the experiences of a sample of gay psychotherapists who worked with gay clients with HIV spectrum disorders. The focus of the interviews was on the problems perceived and reported by these therapists in doing this work and the coping strategies they used to overcome any difficulties. Several themes emerged related to the therapists' identifications with these clients, including concerns about contagion (emotional and physical), effects of the deaths experienced, and concerns about homophobia. Respondents'coping strategies covered a wide range of activities: behavioral, ego supportive, psychodynamic, political, spiritual, and cognitive. Identification was both vital to empathy and a source of counter-transference. The study incorporated a sensitivity to both the situational and psychodynamic issues encountered by both clients and therapists. Implications of the findings for practice are articulated especially in the area of supervision. The assessment of vulnerabilities to over-identification and development of resources to manage them is critical to all therapists in HIV work.
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