Effects of time-limited dynamic psychotherapy on distress among HIV-seropositive men who have sex with men

The current study seeks to examine changes in distress associated with receiving time-limited dynamic psychotherapy (TLDP) among men who have sex with men (MSM) who are also living with HIV and AIDS. Participants included 79 HIV-seropositive MSM who were seeking psychotherapy at a community mental health clinic between January 2000 and June 2005. Participants' had a mean age of 42 and were predominantly European American (77%), although Latinos (13%), African Americans (5%), and Asian Americans (4%) were also included. Each participant completed a pretest on a self-report measure of subjective distress, the Outcome Questionnaire 45.2 (OQ-45.2), received 20 sessions of TLDP over the course of 20 weeks, and then completed a posttest on the OQ-45.2 to examine changes associated with TLDP. Participants' self-reported distress showed statistically significant decreases after 20 sessions of TLDP. Furthermore, the overall effects were strong, suggesting that decreases in distress were clinically meaningful as well as statistically significant. These results are particularly significant in light of the AIDS Health Project's (AHP's) policy of assigning higher functioning clients to TLDP therapists at intake, indicating that the participants in this study began treatment with lower pretest scores than mental health clients in the general population. These results suggest that HIV-seropositive MSM who receive TLDP may experience significantly decreased distress. Future research using a randomized study design is needed to compare such benefits to those of more standard psychological interventions for this population. Strengths and limitations of the study are discussed in detail.