Expressing Personal Recollections in English or Spanish to Alleviate Traumatic Emotions (Exprésate)

Inclusion criteria

• Age ≥ 21 years
• Elevated PTSD symptoms as assessed by the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist Scale-Version DSM 5 (PCL-5) using a cut-off of 34 or above
• On a stable anti-retroviral therapy regimen for > 6 months as assessed with the Adult AIDS Clinical Trial Group structured interview
• Spanish-English bilingual as measured by the Brief Acculturation Scale for Hispanics (cut-off of 3), Spanish speaker or English speaker
• Participant is willing and able to sign Informed Consent Form (ICF)
• self-report as Latina
• HIV positive serostatus as determined by medical record within the last 12 months
• Born female.

Exclusion criteria

• Left-handedness or ambidextrous
• Inability to tolerate the scanning procedures
• Metal in body or prior history working with metal fragments
• Any other contraindications for MRI examination (e.g., metallic implants such as pacemakers, surgical aneurysm clips, or known metal fragments embedded in the body)
• currently pregnant or could be pregnant
• Heavy alcohol intake (> 3 drinks) within 12 hours prior to participation in Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
• Evidence from health history of neurological or systemic disorder which can cause cognitive impairment
• Self-reported current diagnosis of psychiatric disorder or psychoactive substance abuse or dependence
• Recent history (within two years) of myocardial infarction
• Severe cardiovascular disease, or currently active cardiovascular disease (e.g., angina, cardiomyopathy)
• Uncontrolled hypertension or hypotension
• History of closed trauma with loss of consciousness
• Space occupying lesions (e.g., mass lesions, tumors)
• Central Nervous System (CNS) infection
• CNS vasculitis
• CNS demyelinating disease (e.g., multiple sclerosis)
• Congenital CNS abnormality (e.g., cerebral palsy)
• Seizure disorders
• History of cerebrovascular disease (e.g., stroke, TIA's)