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I am a licensed clinical social worker hired about 9 months ago to do mental health counseling, after doing 32 years in inpatient and outpatient and 20 years in private practice, this is obviously a very neglected population. Good mental health and substance abuse treatment is paramount to defeating this disease and other diseases.I am exclusively seeing HIV patients in therapy and I can see the benefits-especially in maintaining undetectable viral loads and higher CD-4 counts. Learning alot!
I was diagnosed with HIV seven years ago. I have private insurance and can afford private mental health services as I faced my new life with HIV! Later I joined the local Ryan White Planning Council and was surprised to find that mental health services were very under utilized services. This is not because clients did not feel they needed the services, but because mental health services in this area are abysmally poor.This has thankfully changed in the past year.
I had gone to Urgent Care because I wasn't feeling well. Several blood tests were made. When I called 5 days later for the results, I was asked to come in. Once there,the Dr. came in & said sorry, you tested HIV+. Here's your discharge papers. The receptionist will make a copy for you. That was it. After testing neg for 20 years, I wasn't prepared for that news. Help or counseling was not offered or suggested. Someone to call or talk to would have been nice.
I've notice when going to the ID clinic some of the patients have mental disorders, but they are never addressed. For instance patience talk in tangents at meetings, steal food, talk while the mediator is speaking, talk on the cell phone, and walk aimlessly around. No one addresses t and every two months it's the same scenario. It has gotten so bad, that I stop attending HIV meetings.
I found what I thought was an excellent therapist who specialized in HIV. After going to them for over a year and starting to come out of my depression so just stopped seeing me. I have insurance and I was paying the copays, I have been HIV for 17 years and thought I finally found someone who could help me cope. I don't think I would trust another therapist after what happened.
It all comes down to funding, there are a handful of GLBT mental illness support groups today. Maybe your study will increase that number. As a gay man I'm stigmatized by both the GLBT community and the Mental Health Community. Dual Recovery groups are also few in the GLBT Community. I look forward to this study's results and hope the GLBT Community finally wake up. The more I find linking all three, the more I realize I'm not alone, thank you.
why did it take so long to figure this out?-why is anybody surprised? the question should have been--who is NOT mentally challenged who has the virus-- pretty naive to act so surprised
da
I get depressed but have been blessed with the ability to fight it. My partner however can't seem to cope. She is forever depressed and often refuses to take her meds because she says say doesn't want to be left alone as the last one to die. It is killing me to see her that way and none of the health people I told about it seem to care. Both of our health is declining at an ever increasing rate and I think this is a factor.
May 11, 2009 • Missouri