AIDS patients experience the four stages described by Weisman as applicable to any chronic illness that is terminal: (1) existential plight, (2) mitigation and accommodation, (3) decline and deterioration, and (4) preterminality and terminality. AIDS patients experience these stages differently from people with terminal cancer, however. The isolation felt by terminal patients is particularly pronounced in AIDS patients. The group therapy emphasized the restoration of some measure of the lost support and sympathetic contact as well as cognitive therapy. The group members were particularly cohesive during the first 8 weeks of therapy, when divisions appeared between healthy and physically ill members. The group viewed the therapists as parents and as omnipotent supports. Patients rather than therapists typically introduced issues. The group's experience suggests the desirability of groups composed of patients at similar stages of the disease, separation of patients with Kaposi's sarcoma into a separate group, the use of therapists who are knowledgeable about the disease, and regular monitoring of each patient's mental status. Therapists must also be comfortable discussing sexuality and must provide information about community resources. One reference.