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R. Dennis Shelby has written a worthwhile book for those of us practicing psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy with patients who have HIV illness. While there have been numerous articles published on the psychosocial aspects of working with individuals and couples who have AIDS, I have not encountered any articles or books written from a psychoanalytic perspective. This is a welcome addition to the field.
Dr. Shelby starts his book by telling the reader how he came to do his research. While working with a gay couple, one of whom was infected with the HTV virus, Shelby realized that there was no literature available on treating survivors of partners who have died from AIDS. This lack motivated him to do a project of his own. His research methodology consisted of presenting himself “to prospective and actual participants as a clinician and researcher interested in what they were experiencing as partners of men who had contracted or died of AIDS.”
There were 32 participants in the study. The age range of the participants was 23 to 52. Most relationships had lasted between four to seven years. Shelby also interviewed professionals who routinely encounter gay men with AIDS and their partners.
Shelby was not only interested in presenting case studies and treatment implications, but also in observing and developing a new