World AIDS Day: Standing With Our Patients, Honouring Lives, and Building an LGBT+ Affirmative Future

BY: Bloomfield Health / November 30, 2025

Every year on World AIDS Day, we pause to remember, reflect, and recommit. It is a day that carries profound meaning for many of our patients, colleagues, friends, and communities. While remarkable progress in HIV treatment and prevention has transformed lives, the emotional, social, and systemic legacy of the AIDS epidemic remains deeply felt.

At Bloomfield Health, we stand proudly with our patients—those living with HIV today and those who carry memories, losses, and resilience shaped by the epidemic.

Honouring the Past: Grief, Memory, and Community

Many of our HIV-positive and LGBTQ+ patients lived through the most devastating years of the AIDS crisis. Some have lost:

• Partners
• Friends
• Whole communities

The grief from this period—often disenfranchised, unspoken, or historically ignored—continues to shape emotional wellbeing decades later.

We recognise:

• The trauma of witnessing widespread loss
• The long-term psychological impact, including survivor guilt, depression, anxiety, and grief reactions
• The need for safe spaces to honour loved ones without stigma

On World AIDS Day, we stand by our patients in remembrance. Their stories deserve dignity, validation, and care.

The Ongoing Stigma of HIV

Despite medical advances, stigma remains one of the most harmful aspects of living with HIV. Research consistently shows that stigma contributes to:

• Lower self-esteem
• Greater social isolation
• Delayed help-seeking
• Increased anxiety or hypervigilance
• Barriers to disclosure in relationships or workplaces

Our practice is committed to LGBT+ affirmative, stigma-free care. This means:

• We recognise the historical and ongoing discrimination faced by LGBT+ people and those living with HIV.
• We provide a clinical environment where sexual orientation, gender identity, and HIV status are respected.
• We understand that shame, internalised stigma, and minority stress can interact with mental health in complex ways.

No one should feel judged in healthcare. Ever.

Mind and Body: The Psychological Impact of HIV and Its Treatment

HIV is now a manageable long-term condition, but its psychological and physical effects can continue to influence wellbeing.

People living with HIV may experience:

• Depression, anxiety, or trauma-related symptoms
• Cognitive difficulties sometimes referred to as “brain fog”
• Sleep problems
• Fatigue
• Emotional strain around adherence to treatment
• Relationship or identity challenges

We understand the intersection of medical and psychological factors. This is why we are proud to have Dr Anna Riddell, Consultant in Infectious Diseases and Virology, as part of our multidisciplinary team.

Her expertise strengthens our ability to:

• Provide holistic mind–body assessments
• Understand the nuanced impact of antiretroviral therapies
• Support patients navigating complex physical or psychological symptoms
• Support joined-up care that recognises the realities of living with HIV today

Working in an LGBT+ Affirmative Way

LGBT+ affirmative practice is not a slogan—it is a clinical commitment. At Bloomfield Health, this means:

1. Understanding Minority Stress

We recognise the chronic stress LGBTQ+ individuals may face due to discrimination, social exclusion, or historic injustice.

2. Validating Identity

We respect sexuality, gender identities, and chosen families. We take the time to understand each person’s lived experience.

3. Trauma-Informed and Historically Aware Practice

The AIDS epidemic was shaped not only by a virus, but by political neglect, systemic inequality, and social prejudice.
We acknowledge this context explicitly—because it matters to our patients.

4. Creating Safe Therapeutic Spaces

Our clinicians are experienced in working sensitively with and have lived experience of:

• Sexual health–related shame
• Internalised homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and/or queerphobia
• Relationship challenges
• Experiences of discrimination within healthcare or society including instituationalised queerphobia.

5. Inclusive Services

We provide:

• Psychological therapy
• Trauma-focused interventions
• Psychiatric assessment and treatment
• Support for grief and bereavement
• Couples and family therapy where helpful

Every patient deserves a clinical space where they are fully seen and fully supported.

A Commitment to Justice, Equity, and Better Care

We remain mindful of the historic systemic injustices that contributed to the AIDS pandemic, including:

• Political abandonment of LGBTQ+ communities
• Medical discrimination
• Social stigma that silenced suffering

Our responsibility now is to work in ways that counter these harms—not just on World AIDS Day, but every day.
This includes advocating for:

• Equitable care
• Culturally sensitive practice
• Non-judgemental clinical environments
• Research-informed mental health support for people living with HIV

At Bloomfield Health, we will continue to listen, learn, and adapt to the needs of our LGBTQ+ patients and communities.

If You Need Support

We offer:

• Psychiatric assessments
• LGBT+ affirmative psychological therapy
• Trauma-informed care
• Support for depression, anxiety, grief, and trauma responses
• Clinical guidance around the psychological impact of HIV
• Couples and family therapy

To speak with a member of our team or schedule an appointment, contact us via BloomfieldHealth.com.

You are not alone.
You deserve respect, dignity, and compassionate care.
On World AIDS Day, and always, we stand with you.