My life-partner has been positive for over 15 years, has good doctors and takes his medicine on schedule. He has been getting quite depressed recently, and I need some suggestions on how to help him. He is retired, active with his hobbies and our church. He tells me about his depression but I cannot seem to help him. I mentioned medications that can help depression and he said that he does not want to take those. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

There are several possibilities. First, consider whether he is taking any medication that might cause depression. Some antiretroviral medications can cause depression, such as Sustiva. Similarly, some other medications, such as corticosteroids (e.g. Prednisone) can cause depression. Second, some common illnesses associated with HIV can resemble depression. You might have his doctor check him for Addison's disease, hypothyroidism, anemia, and hypotestosteronism, all of which can masquerade as depression.

If no medical cause is found, he should consider getting into some psychotherapy. Cognitive and interpersonal therapy are both helpful for depression. If all else fails, he should reconsider his stance about taking antidepressants. They can be life saving for some people with depression.