Effective Treatment for Gay African-American Methamphetamine Users

AIDS was identified 25 years ago in this country, yet there is still no cure. HIV is spreading disproportionately among African-American men who have sex with men (MSM). Intravenous methamphetamine usage increases exponentially the risk of being infected with HIV. It is a much under-studied public health crisis. Traditional treatment modalities, including psychodynamic psychotherapy and twelve-step models, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, have failed to respond effectively to the needs of African-American MSM who inject methamphetamine. This paper contends that harm reduction psychotherapy has been very effective in treating both high-risk drug and sexual behaviors that can lead to HIV infection. Social justice theory shows promise as a treatment for African-American MSM intravenous drug users. A clinical case example blending harm reduction psychotherapy and social justice theory is presented. The following recommendations are made: (1) design and implement culturally sensitive HIV prevention interventions within the impacted communities; (2) utilize harm reduction psychotherapy and social justice theory as primary treatment modalities; and (3) greatly expand the current research on African-American MSM injection methamphetamine users.