Central Los Angeles : Mental Health Clinic for HIV-Infected Fills Need

The beaming smile on Brad--116 days sober and HIV-positive--is testament to his appreciation for SPECTRUM, a mental health clinic for people who have the AIDS virus.

The clinic, whose initials stand for Services for HIV Prevention, Education, Care, Treatment and Research for Underserved Minorities, has been operating for nearly a year at the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science near Watts. But it was only on Wednesday that it held a festive formal opening.

Funded by a federal grant, it is one of only 11 mental health clinics for HIV-positive patients in the U.S., program director Eric Bing said.

Brad, 27, who said he had suffered from severe depression after being diagnosed seven years ago, said his visits to the clinics have changed his frame of mind.

“It’s about living with HIV” rather than dying from it, he said. He said he now approaches the disease like any other permanent affliction, such as diabetes.

The clinic is Bing’s brainchild. He started it after a study was done at King/Drew Medical Center on 500 HIV patients. The results showed that half of them suffered from a diagnosable mental disorder, such as depression or drug addiction. Less than a third of that group had sought professional help, Bing said.

By the time the clinic officially opened Wednesday, it already had a nearly full caseload of 148 clients, Bing said.

“This [SPECTRUM] was a vision,” Bing said. “But I had no idea how much we are needed.”

Clinical director Karyl Draper said physicians believe that providing specialized mental health care will reduce the cost of treating HIV because many patients seek physical care to meet their emotional problems when what they really need is to talk to a mental health specialist.

While the program targets minorities, Bing said SPECTRUM is open to anyone who is HIV-positive.

Brad, who did not want his full name used, said he had been so depressed after his diagnosis that he could not tell his parents he was HIV-positive.

Now, Brad, who grew up just a few blocks from Drew University, said he no longer feels like he has been served a death warrant, but rather empowered.

Dozens of doctors, HIV-care workers and other members of the community attended the festive opening celebration Wednesday. They were entertained by a West African drum and dance ensemble and were given small bags of wildflower seeds to plant in a garden next to the clinic to commemorate friends they may have lost to HIV or for those who are fighting the virus.

Information: (213) 563-4939.