The Psychiatry of AIDS: A Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment

HIV/AIDS has become a psychiatric epidemic. The disease causes or exacerbates such psychiatric disorders as depression, dementia, schizophrenia, and bipolar disease. At the same time, the presence of a psychiatric disorder can lead to increased risk for HIV infection and worsen the prognosis of patients once they are infected. Dr. Glenn J. Treisman, who has been described as the father of AIDS psychiatry, describes the relationship between psychiatric disorders and HIV/AIDS and demonstrates the ways in which effective recognition and treatment of mental disorders can increase a patient’s ability to obtain better treatment, improve compliance with medical regimens, and reduce incidents of high-risk behavior. The book provides HIV/AIDS professionals with overviews of psychiatric disorders, including mood and personality disorders, mental retardation, substance abuse and addiction, and sexual disorders and dysfunction. It also provides mental health professionals with essential information on how to care for patients with HIV and those at risk for the infection. The book discusses psychopharmacology, psychotherapy and counseling, as well as adherence and compliance issues, and the relationship between psychiatric disorders and other STDs. Containing the most up-to-date information on diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment, this book draws on the authors’ unrivaled experience and uses case studies to show HIV/AIDS professionals how psychiatric interventions benefit the patient, the medical team, and society as a whole. The cases are rich and engaging, and convey to the reader the intense disorder that can affect the lives of patients.