The personal inventory as a psychotherapeutic technique in treating a person with AIDS

The use of a personal inventory, an adaptation of the moral inventory used in Twelve Step programs, is discussed as a psychotherapeutic tool in providing treatment to persons with AIDS. Clinical application of this technique can facilitate progress toward achieving a sense of integrity prior to death by addressing a client's feelings of guilt and shame. The authors describe the use of this technique in working with a young adult African-American female diagnosed with AIDS and discuss appropriate and inappropriate applications of this approach.