Our Responses to a Deadly Virus: The Group-Analytic Approach

As a group analyst concerned with social and psychological issues, Dr Angela Molnos brings a unique perspective to bear on the problems raised, both for society and the individual, by the confusion and prejudice surrounding HIV infection and the AIDS epidemic. Recognizing that these problems can vitiate even the most enlightened health care policies, she draws on her experience gained by working in several countries to put the case for the application of group analysis, through the organization of staff support groups, to those directly concerned with policy implementation: The carers themselves.

In the first part of her book Dr. Molnos demonstrates how, if unchecked, conscious and unconscious prejudice can promote destructive tendencies within groups involved with HIV and AIDS patients. The second part recounts the author's experiences, and insights gained, during the course of a workshop convened in London in December 1987. The third and final section puts forward the case for applying group analysis to health services in the HIV/AIDS sphere. And includes Dr. Molnos' account of her work with a group of health advisers and the subsequent improvements in working practice obtained through the use of the group-analytic method.