Emotional Disclosure in HIV

Efficacy of an Emotional Disclosure Intervention in HIV

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT00067704

Enrollment

283

Registered

2003-08-27

Start date

2004-02-29

Completion date

2012-11-30

Last updated

2015-10-14

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

HIV Infections

Keywords

Complementary Therapies

Brief summary

The specific objective of this study are to examine whether or not a treatment aimed at emotional disclosure may have beneficial psychological, health and immune effects for HIV infected individuals. The goal of the current study is to test the efficacy of emotional disclosure through writing in patients with HIV infection. We will compare emotional disclosure through writing about traumatic experiences (experimental intervention) to a control intervention (writing about emotionally neutral topics). \[Note that HIV RNA viral load, CD4 T cells, urinary cortisol, health related dysfunction, psychological distress, and medication adherence are the 6 primary outcome variables.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALTrauma writing

BEHAVIORALWriting about daily events

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE (Subject)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 65 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* 18-65 years of age inclusive * At least 8 years of formal education * Literate * Fluent in English All of the following three must apply: * No active Category C HIV AIDS-defining symptoms * CD4 T-lymphocyte count between 150-499 * Viral load \>1000

Exclusion criteria

* Less than 8 years formal education * Illiterate or non-English speaking * Active systemic diseases that would interfere with participation * Current alcohol or substance dependence * Planned change in HIV medication in the next 6 months, or recent change in past 2 months * Introduction of antidepressant medication within 30 days of study start * Current psychological counseling, cognitive behavior therapy, support group or other psychological therapy, or plans to start any of the above * Diagnosis of PTSD or major depression * Unable to attend at least 4 treatment sessions

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Decrease in psychological distress	1 year

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Increase in CD4 T-lymphocytes	1 year
Decrease in the number of HIV symptoms	1 year

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026