Cognitive-behavioral therapy for HIV medication adherence and depression

For patients with HIV, depression is a common, distressing condition that can interfere with a critical self-care behavior — adherence to antiretroviral therapy. The present study describes a cognitive-behavioral treatment designed to integrate cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression with our previously tested approach to improving adherence to antiretroviral therapy for HIV. Each session addresses HIV medication adherence in the context of modules for activity scheduling, cognitive restructuring, problem-solving training, and relaxation training/diaphragmatic breathing. We present the design of the intervention and outcome of 5 cases. All of the patients presented below were men who have sex with men who were infected with HIV through sexual transmission. Generally, these patients showed improvements in both depression and medication adherence.