A Gestalt perspective on working with people with HIV disease.

Four aspects of Gestalt practice that are particularly relevant to HIV-related therapy are explored: the client-therapist relationship, the phenomenonological method, awareness as the goal of therapy, and experiments and role playing. Applying the Gestalt ideals of self-regulation, wholeness, and growth to a person with HIV is vital to counteract the patient's loss of immune function. The Gestalt experience cycle, defined as a model of how people identify their needs and then set out to meet those needs, is a useful paradigm in HIV-related therapy.