HIV Self-Testing Workshop: Opportunities, Issues and Ethics
When: Thursday, February 13th, 2014 at 7PM
Where: The DC Center for the LGBT Community (2000 14th Street NW, Suite 105)
In 2012, the FDA approved over-the-counter sale of rapid HIV-tests. More than just a way for people to test themselves, this opens up greater access for people to test in different arenas and with different people. For some, such as people who are well-informed about HIV, who test regularly, or are in relationships w...
HIV Self-Testing Workshop: Opportunities, Issues and Ethics
When: Thursday, February 13th, 2014 at 7PM
Where: The DC Center for the LGBT Community (2000 14th Street NW, Suite 105)
In 2012, the FDA approved over-the-counter sale of rapid HIV-tests. More than just a way for people to test themselves, this opens up greater access for people to test in different arenas and with different people. For some, such as people who are well-informed about HIV, who test regularly, or are in relationships with people who have HIV, this may be easier than going to a clinic. For many others, for whom HIV is more of a syndemic (an aggregate of 2 or more bio-psycho-social conditions that interact), this option allows for testing with professionals such as social workers and psychologists working with clients on other issues such as trauma and addictions to introduce testing into their practice in a way that better serves the client in both health and empowerment.
With these new opportunities, however, also come responsibilities, including ethical considerations for professionals. This workshop, presented by Brad Ogilvie and The DC Center HIV Working Group, will be an opportunity for professionals, activists and people concerned about stopping the spread of HIV to learn more about self-testing and how it can be a piece of the puzzle to stop the spread of HIV. We will be reviewing the basics of HIV, the benefits and limitations of self-testing, and making connections to that self-testing is done with the utmost of integrity and safety.
About the Workshop Leader: Brad Ogilvie, MS, LMFT, is a part-time counselor in Washington, DC as well as Program Coordinator for William Penn House, a Quaker program center on Capitol Hill. He founded The Mosaic Initiative in 2005 as an organization focused on stopping the HIV/AIDS pandemic. As a result of seeing people turned away from HIV-testing because they were not "high-risk", he became involved in advocating for more options. He also takes the "people need counseling" concern to heart, and the reason he encourages mental health professionals to integrate testing into their practice. Previously, he has run an AIDS housing program and education center in IL, worked in holistic HIV clinic in the mid-1990's, and traveled to rural Kenya to be a part of community engagement on HIV (including building a community center there). He has also been living with HIV for 28 years. You can see more about his practice at www.bradogilviecounseling.com.