Psychotherapy Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Psychotherapy, including details on psychiatry, psychoanalysis, methods, outcomes.

A randomized trial of a brief HIV risk reduction intervention for men with severe mental illness.

Berkman A, Cerwonka E, Sohler N, Susser E

Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY 10032, USA. ab376@columbia.edu

OBJECTIVE: A six-session version of a longer, 15-session social skills intervention for reducing high-risk sexual behaviors among men with severe mental illness was assessed. METHODS: Ninety-two men were randomly assigned to the intervention or to a two-hour standard HIV educational session, and their sexual risk behaviors were assessed every six weeks for six months. RESULTS: Among the sexually active men (33 in the intervention group and 23 in the control group), a twofold reduction in sexual risk behaviors was found for the intervention group. This reduction was less than the threefold reduction seen for the original 15-session intervention and was not statically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Further study is required to determine the optimal balance between efficacy and feasibility of this intervention.

Published 9 March 2006 in Psychiatr Serv, 57(3): 407-9.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2005-2008 Psychotherapy Research Today. All Rights Reserved.