Coronavirus brings changes to people’s lives more quickly than the human psyche can adapt. People with HIV are especially vulnerable when it comes to dealing with uncertainty around the future, because even without a pandemic, every day they must think about their health, cope with anxiety and follow a treatment regimen and their doctors’ recommendations.
To help deal with these crisis conditions, now there is an opportunity for the following groups to receive free psychological counseling:
- People living with HIV (including those whose observation by the AIDS Center has been interrupted and patients with stages 4-5 HIV in need of palliative care),
- Specialists in the helping professions who work with HIV-positive individuals (psychologists, social workers, peer counselors, activists, volunteers, medical workers, lawyers and others).
These consultations provide an opportunity for people with HIV to work through the anxiety that arises in connection with COVID-19; return to treatment or maintain adherence during difficult life situations (loss of job and income, neurotic and depressive disorders in the face of prolonged isolation, addiction, etc.); and receive support directly related to being HIV positive and in other areas not concerning their status.
For helping professionals working in the HIV field, these consultations provide an opportunity to receive psychological support, prevent burnout during the pandemic, maintain the quality of the services they provide, build their competencies in working with HIV-positive individuals, and overcome personal barriers that may get in the way of providing effective support.
Consultations are conducted predominantly via distanced formats (WhatsApp, Viber, Skype, VKontakte, etc.) by appointment with the following specialists:
Ekaterina Zykova, medical psychologist,
provides psychological counseling in these areas:
- Accepting a diagnosis of HIV
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Chemical and nonchemical forms of addiction
- Difficulties in interpersonal relationships
- Difficulties in social adaptation
- Codependency
- Trauma resulting from violence
- Personal, age-related and professional crises
- Self-esteem issues
- Search for landmarks, goal-setting, development, realization of one’s potential
- Support in decisions and difficulties making decisions
Methods of work:
- humanistic and existential therapy
- cognitive behavioral therapy
- art therapy
Mondays from 16:00-19:00; Fridays from 11:00-15:00.
Online or in-person (St. Petersburg) sessions are possible, but during the pandemic the online format is preferable.
Contact info: 8 (981) 778-70-90 (call, text, WhatsApp); zykova_ev1 (Skype).
Leya Sekh, psychologist
provides psychological counseling in these areas:
- Dissatisfaction with life
- Emotional and physical fatigue
- Frustration
- Apathy
- Heightened self-criticism
- Feelings of helplessness and uselessness
- Disruption of life balance
- Codepency
- Burnout.
Methods of work:
- behavioral therapy
- system-activity approach
- meditation approach.
Mondays and Fridays from 9:00-13:00 online; Thursdays from 10:00-13:00 in person (Moscow).
Contact info: 8 (903) 170-03-32 (call, text, WhatsApp); leasekh@gmail.com (e-mail)
Evgenia Druzhina, psychologist/clinical psychologist
provides psychological counseling in these areas:
- Accepting a diagnosis of HIV
- Work with trauma (finding ways out of a traumatic situation, experiencing the impacts)
- Grief and loss
- Feelings of guilt
- Reducing high levels of anxiety
- Family difficulties (divorce, infidelity, etc.)
- Codependency
- Difficulties in interpersonal relationships
- Difficulties in social adaptation
- Experiencing crises
- Accepting yourself and working on self-esteem
- Goals and goal-setting.
Methods of work:
- integrative approach
- process using techniques from humanistic psychotherapy and Gestalt therapy.
Weekdays from 9:00-19:00; weekend appointments can be discussed.
Online and in-person (Kursk). During the pandemic the online format is preferable and includes audio/video counseling or counseling by chat (messages).
Contact info: 8 (919) 279-27-55 (call, WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram); https://vk.com/evgeniya_kibets (VKontakte)
Psychological counseling is most impactful when there is active work and involvement on the part of both parties (the psychologist and the client.) It is your responsibility to let the psychologist know if you must cancel an appointment. Following this rule will make the work of our psychologists more effective and allow them to support more HIV-positive individuals.
This project is implemented with support from the Presidential Grants Foundation.