Aportaciones y límites del uso de la Abordaje Centrada en la Persona (ACP) para la fundamentación teórica de la consejería en VIH / SIDA

Although it fi gures as an important prevention technology, national and international studies point out that counseling in the STD/AIDS fi eld present frailties and problems, among them the lack of theoretical grounds or inconsistencies among theoretical bases and technical developments. This study aimed to examine the conceptual contribution of one of the theoretical frames that infl uenced the construction of counseling strategies and techniques in STD in Brazil, the Person-centered therapy (PCT), developed by Carl Rogers, as well as the limits of its employment in the STD/AIDS context, from the analysis of documents produced by the World Health Organization, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/ AIDS (UNAIDS), and Ministry of Health – Brazil, regarded as the main normative references for counseling. The documentary material was approached interpretively, the rogerian conceptual constructions compared with the work process recommended in the documents, examining its consistence and internal coherence. Incompatibilities were evidenced regarding their objectives, focus, expected results and professional attitude. Such disagreements seem to stem from differences among the original aims of PCT-based counseling and those demanded in STD/AIDS prevention strategies. The confl uence of many goals added to counseling in the fi eld of STD/AIDS presented complications to a consistent use of the PCT. The study agrees with the pertinence and interest of the rogerian approach in counseling as a support technique for the decision making and management of everyday situations in the fi eld of prevention, but the need to revise objectives and standardized procedures focused on behavioral change and epidemiological vigilance is also stressed.