Healing Conversations for Men Who Have Sex with Men Looking at HIV and Meth Use in an Academic Setting
David Pantalone is the Director of the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program and Professor of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. His areas of expertise include Clinical health psychology; HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment; substance abuse; LGBT health and mental health. David joins the show today to talk about the statistics between men who are HIV positive, and men that use meth. He discusses why meth is back and easier to get, the correspondence that adverse childhood experiences have in health risks, and what is behind the program called Project Impact.
TAKEAWAYS:
[2:07] David had a winding path into Psychology from the Public Health arena. He combines his passion for education and advocacy by teaching Human Sexuality to undergraduates and working with doctoral students on how to be therapists. David is also very involved in professional organizations such as Division 44, and ABCT.
[4:40] Meth use is more common among MSM, and men who are HIV positive and use meth are more likely to miss their dosage to keep them safe and undetectable. David also shares a statistic that men who reported having used meth were 18x more likely to contract HIV than men who had not.
[5:56] The supply and demand issue made meth go away, but now it is back and easier to get. However, the forms people are getting are tainted worse than ever, and no one can be too sure about the exact substances they are taking.
[7:20] Working with men on healing from their adverse childhood experiences has a strong impact both on the ground and in practice. The more traumatic childhood, the more it may correspond with health risks, mental health, abuse, and healthcare engagement.
[11:23] Project Impact was born from treating both depression and working to reduce substance abuse. They use effective and proven strategies including behavioral activation, and the participant has coached along in a 10-Week program.
[16:01] In behavioral activation, the client gains success by getting their own behavior under control, and not having their actions be dependent upon their moods.
[19:25] There has been some improvement in awareness regarding the meth epidemic, but communities can still do more. We must realize that the version of the drug out there today is worse than ever, we must focus on harm reduction, and also help young men develop better skills on how to cope with painful emotions and situations.
[21:37] A large part of treatment in the digital age is helping the individual use apps appropriately, or to help them not use them at all if that is what’s best.
[28:50] David has many new projects coming down the pipeline including ones for opioid use, children on the autism spectrum, and men of color. These are all fascinating and important studies that help intersectional stigmas and provide resources that are presently hard to come by.
RESOURCES:
HIV Explore Study
Project Impact
QUOTES:
● “Some of the younger guys didn’t see the devastation meth caused in gay male communities.”
● “I want to develop interventions that get rolled out that are as easy as possible for community-based providers to use.”
● “We need lots of different options. It’s clear at this moment there is no end in sight in this wave in the meth epidemic.”