COUNSELING: HSV INFECTIONS
COUNSELING: HSV INFECTIONS
The psychosocial implications of HSV in nongenital infections have been believed to have little social stigma attached to the diagnosis and few studies have been published about general knowledge or psychosocial implications. Genital HSV, on the other hand, is known to cause profound effects on the lives of those diagnosed with the infection. Those interviewed regarding their diagnosis describe symptomology with feelinfs of anger, feelings of shame, and lowered self-esteem. Often discussed are the concerns around the absence of cure, the recurrent nature of the symptoms and fears or transmission in preanancy or to a future partner (Conant, Berger, Coates, Longo, Robinson, Drake, 1996).