Trauma Informed Intervention to Support Engagement in HIV Care Among MSM (THRIVE+)

Development of a Trauma Informed Intervention to Support Adaptive Engagement in Care Among MSM Living With HIV: Project THRIVE+

This purpose of this project is to specify and provide an initial test of a 10 session, individual-based cognitive therapy intervention to address symptoms of PTSD and poor engagement in HIV care among men who have sex with men (MSM) with trauma histories

The proposed intervention will incorporate the most current approaches to mediating trauma responses and stressors related to experiences of HIV stigma and homonegativity with cognitive-processing therapy, an empirically validated, cognitive-behavioral intervention for reducing negative consequences of traumatic stress. This intervention intends to improve uptake of HIV care in the prevention, engagement, and care cascade while also addressing the mental health needs of HIV-positive persons in a program of research that leads to outcomes in the short-term. If found to be efficacious, this intervention can also be scalable across clinical settings.

The study will be implemented at The Fenway Institute at Fenway Health (TFI) and at Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada and Drs. O'Cleirigh and Hart will assume the responsibility of coordinating the study across sites.

Randomization will be to the 10 session intervention or to two medication adherence/engagement in care sessions.

Inclusion Criteria:

• HIV-infected
• is a man who has sex with men
• has a history of trauma and is experiencing trauma-related distress (as operationalized by a score of >/= 20 on the Davidson Trauma Scale)
• is sub-optimally engaged in HIV care (as operationalized by missing 1 or more HIV care appointments in the past 12 months, having a detectable viral load at most recent testing, or having poor adherence - </=80% - to HIV medications)

Exclusion Criteria:

• has a significant mental health diagnosis that requires immediate treatment (e.g., acute major depression; panic disorder; any psychotic disorder)
• unable to complete the informed consent process (e.g., substantial cognitive impairment, inadequate English language skills).