Title: Healthy While Sexual: Preventing and Living with Sexually Transmitted Infections

Authors: J. Richelle Joe, PhD and John Super, PhD

Description: Sexually transmitted infections (STI) can affect an individual’s mental and physical health, and counselors may encounter clients who are living with a sexually transmitted infection (STI) or who are interested in available methods to prevent contracting HIV or any other STI. For counseling to be effective for those clients, counselors must be equipped with current and accurate information about the prevention, transmission, prognosis, and treatment of STIs and know how to engage clients in meaningful conversations. This Continuing Professional Development resource is based on chapter 14 authored by J. Richelle Joe and John T. Super from the Handbook for Human Sexuality Counseling: A Sex Positive Approach (ACA, 2023) and provides counselors with a rationale to: (1) know HIV basics, prevention, and treatment, (2) explain how counselors can be active in engaging clients in the topic of sexuality, (3) understand how counselors can support clients through testing, diagnosis, treatment, and the experience of living with a sexually transmitted infection (STI).