Body mapping as a critical pedagogical tool: Orientating trainee psychologists towards addressing HIV and AIDS

Abstract

This article is the outcome of a classroom-based study that explored whether body mapping, used in a workshop, facilitated a critical analysis of HIV and AIDS amongst a group of trainee psychologists, and orientated them towards addressing some of the factors that drive the epidemic. The article outlines the body mapping exercise and describes how it fits into a broader HIV and AIDS workshop informed by a social justice approach. Key pedagogical insights that emerged about running the body mapping exercise and the workshop as a whole are discussed. The central finding of the study is that body mapping, integrated into a wider social justice workshop, is a useful pedagogical tool that facilitates a critical analysis and orientates students towards addressing HIV and AIDS through their professional practices. However, if this teaching method is to contribute to the kinds of substantial social and systemic change needed to address many of the social issues that drive the epidemic, it needs to be complemented with wider changes in the way in which psychologists are trained.