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Although “Psychodynamic Psychotherapy in an AIDS Nursing Home” is nearly a quarter of a century old, it is relevant and has meaning in today's world and specifically in the world of medical care. Pandemics such as polio, HIV, and SARS-CoV-2 magnify stigma and health care disparities and cause parallel epidemics of fear and rage. “Severe illness has a profound effect on patients and their loved ones. When severe illness is stigmatizing, infectious, and ultimately fatal, the impact is devastating.” The article illuminates the value of a comprehensive biopsychosociocultural compassionate approach to patient care. It illustrates how we can address the most devastating of illnesses through a collaborative model of care that integrates both psychodynamic psychotherapy and principles of consultation-liaison psychiatry.
Gradually from June 1981, the time of onset of the HIV pandemic to the present, the model of medical care became less and less compassionate and comprehensive as time spent with patients became shorter and shorter. Medicine began to adopt a productivity-oriented, market-driven business model. Many persons throughout the world do not believe that there is still an HIV pandemic and that the epidemics of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and HIV stigma still exist. However, throughout the world there is ample evidence of an HIV pandemic: 37.7 million persons are living with HIV although HIV and AIDS are entirely preventable. There are 17 million children orphaned by the loss or one or both parents to AIDS, all of whom are affected by loss and some of whom are living with HIV due to perinatal transmission. Although HIV is very easy to diagnose with rapid HIV testing, 6 million persons with HIV worldwide are unaware that they are infected. In the United States, with access to HIV testing and