I find that my work in AIDS, and living surrounded by AIDS, for the past 12 years has increased my appreciation for and my capacity to enjoy the richness of life. While of course tremendously saddened, instead of finding myself drained, I am increasingly nourished and inspired by working with people living with HIV and AIDS, as devastating as it is. The inspiration comes from their courage.

As a gay man living in the midst of a community ravished by AIDS, the issues I've discussed have an obvious immediacy and urgency to me personally as well as professionally. While the content of this discussion has been living and practicing psychotherapy in the face of a particular plague, I think that the dynamics are universally relevant to all therapists. Which of us has not had to face our own fears and losses, or grapple with our own mortality? This is the core of human pain and triumph. How we manage these issues defines our personhood. How we help our patients manage these issues defines us as therapists.

Introduction
Disclosing the Therapist's HIV Status?
A Classic Case of Countertransference
Discussing Death
Professional Challenges of Psychotherapy with People Living with HIV/AIDS
Avoiding Burnout
Other Articles by Michael Shernoff

Published in A Perilous Calling: The Hazards of Psychotherapy Practice, M. Sussman, Editor, 1994: John Wiley & Sons by Michael Shernoff, MSW
© 1996 Michael Shernoff

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