The salient features listed for the setting up of the program correspond to the structure of an AIDS counseling interview. Counseling is defined as a context for both problem identification and solution with an overlap of health promotion and psychological guidance. Strategies are listed for implementing counseling programs together with an integration into existing programs of immunization, family planning, and sexually transmitted diseases. Procedures for implementing the services are listed. The clinical, social, and counseling implications are explored with particular focus on the impact of counseling on beliefs, structures, and institutions. 1 table, 1 figure, and 12 references (Author abstract modified)