Book excerpt: Go beyond the statistics to discover why many gay and bisexual men take the health risk—and what can be done about it The rate of new HIV diagnoses and other sexually transmitted infections among men having sex with men has increased sharply, especially in men of color. Barebacking: Psychosocial and Public Health Approaches examines in depth the reasons why so many gay and bisexual men indulge in “barebacking,” or intentional unprotected sex. Respected experts reveal the latest studies that explore every facet of this alarming trend that apparently began as a phenomenon confined to those who had already been infected. The mounting likelihood of a renewed epidemic is a troubling public health issue that reaches beyond gays and bisexuals into the heterosexual community. The aim of Barebacking: Psychosocial and Public Health Approaches is to provide clinicians with some insights to foster strategies for addressing these unsafe sexual behaviors. This book presents the studies of researchers working in the field as well as those who can provide both research and clinical perspectives. Thoroughly researched and richly referenced, this book is an essential resource for health and mental health professionals. In Barebacking: Psychosocial and Public Health Approaches, you’ll find discussion and research on: the public health perspective of the emergence of barebacking among gay and bisexual men how the term “barebacking” differs between various gay and bisexual men how club drug use has posed a public health threat HIV transmission risks among men who meet through the Internet barebacking among Internet-based male sex workers assessing HIV-negative gay or bisexual men a treatment model for barebackers psychotherapy considerations for individual gay men and male couples having unsafe sex Barebacking: Psychosocial and Public Health Approaches is an insightful and comprehensive research source, essential for psychologists, researchers, public health officials, counselors, psychotherapists, and anyone concerned with the HIV epidemic in the United States.