With the success of pediatric antiretroviral therapy (ART), many more infants born with HIV (perinatally infected) are growing up into adolescents and young adults living with HIV. This population faces a unique set of psychological, emotional and sometimes physical needs that might differ from those of non-perinatally infected youth.

While care and treatment programs for people living with HIV (PLHIV) can be found in every country, there is a gap in provision of ongoing, supportive counseling for adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV). Adolescents who are newly diagnosed (or who have only recently learned of their status) need accurate information about their diagnosis and care and treatment options. They need information about preventing transmission to others and guidance about adhering to treatment. In addition to this important information, ALHIV need long-term counseling and support—not only to come to terms with their diagnosis, but also to discuss what it means to live with HIV, if and when to disclose their status to others, and how to envision their future. Most of all, it’s important to remember that adolescents living with HIV are first and foremost adolescents. Like all young people, they are eager to learn how their bodies are changing; about their sexual identities; and about their reproductive health, including safer sex, prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), pregnancy prevention and planning for safer pregnancy options.

This guide provides a framework for adults who lead post-test information and support groups for adolescents who are living with HIV. The guide is designed for people who have been trained in or have experience in HIV counseling and testing, who work in a counseling capacity with ALHIV, who provide other psychosocial support services to ALHIV or who have been trained to work with adolescents in the context of reproductive and sexual health.