This article analyzes the relevance ascribed to counseling for HIV prevention by users of a testing service. The study's main theoretical references were the democratization of discourse as proposed by Fairclough and the disciplinary power and confessional techniques analyzed by Foucault. The research was done from November 2005 to March 2006 at an HIV testing and counseling center in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Thirty-two individuals participated in the study. Techniques included in-depth interviews and an adaptation of the content analysis method, with emphasis on thematic modality. The interpretation of counseling as a "necessary evil" revealed an ambivalent approach (both democratic and coercive), but this ambiguity did not appear problematic. The difficulty lay in constructing models for interaction that prioritized symmetry in the counseling relationship and focused on users' participation as key protagonists in HIV prevention.
Counseling; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Health Education