Social workers, counselors, and health care professionals will be challenged by this thorough presentation of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs). The contributing authors contend that in the immediate future, education, not medicine will be the single most important weapon in stemming the spread of STDs. Thus, the responsibility of educating society and providing service for people who are directly or indirectly affected by STDs lies with helping professions. The devastating social, medical, and psychological aspects of AIDS, herpes, and other STDs are discussed. Contributors focus on the issues involved with counseling individuals with STDs--and their partners, families, and friends--and make suggestions for the education and teaching of professionals and the general public about STDs.