Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Chemsex

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Overview

Quasi-randomized control trial of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for chemsex.

Intervention will entail a prescreening, intake session, 16 therapy sessions, and a six-month follow-up. Each session will be 45-55 minutes long. Participants in ACT-for-chemsex will be compared to participants in a treatment as usual condition.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Conditions

Chemsex

Interventions

ACT-for-chemsexBEHAVIORAL

16 weeks of acceptance and commitment therapy, delivered online weekly, 45-55 minute sessions

Treatment as Usual (TAU)OTHER

Participants in TAU will receive health/mental health interventions as needed

Eligibility

Sex: MALEMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 65 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Male * age 18-65 * access to internet capable smart device * documentation of Alabama residence * access to a private area to attend tele ACT-for-chemsex sessions * self-reported chemsex within six-months of intake * English fluency. Exclusion Criteria: * Psychotic disorder * bipolar disorder * eating disorder * major neurocognitive disorder diagnosis * self-harm or suicide attempt within 12 months of screener * suicide plan/intention at time of screening * ongoing treatment for a complex medical comorbidity (e.g., in patient cancer treatment) * current enrollment in an individual ACT-based psychotherapy intervention.

Locations (1)

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Birmingham, Alabama, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Chemsex frequency

Self-reported chemsex frequency in the past six months

Time frame: Baseline, 16 week post-treatment, six month follow-up

Secondary Outcomes

Modified NIDA ASSIST

Past six month substance use on the following scale 0=never 1. Once or Twice 2. Monthly 3. Weekly 4. Daily or Almost Daily

Time frame: Baseline, 16 week post-treatment, six month follow-up

Sexual Health History

Questions will inquire about STI status including a lifetime history and past 12-month diagnostic status for the following STIs: HIV, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, Chlamydia, Hepatitis C, and Genital Herpes. Participants will be asked "In the past year, have you taken PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis)?" ("0=No", "1=Yes, Daily PrEP", "2=Yes, On-Demand \[2-1-1\] PrEP", "3=Yes, Long-acting PrEP", "4=Not sure"). We will include ad-hoc measures commonly used in previous studies for single item assessments of lifetime, past year, past month, and past week number of partnered sexual experiences, sexual partners, and age of first partnered sexual experience. We will also include the ID Risk Behavior (BRAID) scale (e.g., "Had unprotected \[no condom\] sex with someone who was a one-night stand or someone you had just met?" "yes", "no"), sexual violence questions as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention YRCSS standard national questionnaire.

Time frame: Baseline

Center for epidemiologic studies depression scale

A series of questions asking about depression symptoms (e.g. " I was bothered by things that usually don't bother me ") On the following scale: 0=Rarely or none of the time (less than 1 day) 1. Some or a little of the time (1-2 days) 2. Occasionally or a moderate amount of the time (3-4 days) 3. Most or all of the time (5-7 days)

Time frame: Baseline, 16 week post-treatment, six month follow-up, every two weeks.

generalized anxiety disorder-7

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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