Being Positive (CARE) Program

Emotional Support and Mental Health Services
For more information, please contact us at 213 553-1837 or at 213 553-1836

APAIT's Emotional Support and Mental Health program serves to improve and sustain the quality of life for persons impacted by HIV/AIDS. Through counseling and psychotherapy, mental health services have proven to help persons with HIV alleviate or decrease psychological symptoms and problems associated with the disease. A few of these issues that are often the result of or aggravated by HIV infection include:

• difficulty coping with the illness or treatment
• depression and anxiety
• bereavement
• end of life issues
• isolation and lack of social support
• disclosure of HIV status to others and specific cultural group stigmas
• relationship issues
• substance abuse
• feeling of guilt, lowered self-esteem, or fear of rejection.
• Stigma related to sexual orientation in particular communities

Individual Counseling/Psychotherapy

In individual counseling, a mental health professional offers a wide range of therapies, either short-term or long term, which can be very beneficial for many clients living with HIV/AIDS. Adhering to a problem-focused perspective, short term treatment deals with specific issues such as disclosure of HIV status to friends and family or changes in relationship status or social support. Long term therapy, on the other hand, addresses more deep-seated issues that may interfere with effective living (e.g. personality disorders, severe internalized homophobia)

Family and Couples Counseling

The goal of family and couples counseling is to assist both the infected and affected parties in a family or couples relationship. The couple and family interventions provide the opportunity for the client's significant other and/or loved ones to join the treatment process.

Group Intervention

Support groups have fortified psychosocial support among HIV infected individuals. While offering a venue for sharing information and experiences, the Thai Support Group and Chinese Support Group aim to increase the social support networks of its members.