Threats to Identity in Survivors of Multiple AIDS-related Losses

Surviving multiple AIDS-related losses confronts individuals with a number of challenges to their sense of identity. For gay men especially, identification with HIV as a defining characteristic of self is not uncommon. Developmental stages become jumbled. Survivors may simultaneously recapitulate earlier stage tasks of identity formation while prematurely facing issues related to integrity versus despair. Psychotherapy is an ideal setting for resolving issues of multiple, ongoing losses.