Suicide Risk Interventions

Summary

The suicide rate among active duty service members and Veterans increased substantially following the onset of post-9/11 conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Accordingly, Veteran suicide prevention has been identified as a national healthcare and research priority. The investigators will recruit 136 female and male Veterans who have been hospitalized for suicide risk and randomly assign them to receive one of two psychotherapy treatments for suicide risk after they leave the hospital. The goals of this study are to examine if a) a longer psychotherapy causes greater improvements in coping skills and reductions in negative suicidal thinking, b) a longer psychotherapy is more effective in reducing suicide risk, and c) if Veterans with a history of multiple suicide attempts are more likely to benefit from the longer psychotherapy. Additionally, this study will use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) neuroimaging scans of Veterans shortly after they leave the hospital and again 4- and 12-months later. This study will explore a) if brain markers can predict suicide attempts, b) if brain markers change over time as suicide risk changes, and c) if brain markers change differently for the two types of psychotherapy.

Conditions

• Suicide

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Enhanced Crisis Response Planning (ECRP)

Using supportive listening, a therapist conducts a brief interview to gather information about lifetime suicide attempt history and recent SI. The therapist then works with the client to identify a) warning signs for being in crisis, b) self-management/distraction strategies, c) reasons for living, d) sources of social support the client could contact in the event of a crisis, and e) crisis resources (e.g., veterans crisis line, contact information for current providers and local emergency resources). Steps for each of these, as well as specific contacts for social support and professional services are written on an index card provided to the patient and the patient is encouraged to keep the card in an accessible place (e.g., wallet) so it can be utilized in the event of a crisis.

BEHAVIORAL

Brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Suicide Prevention (BCBT)

This weekly, 12-session intervention involves completion of an enhanced crisis response plan, as well as emotion regulation skills training, learning strategies to identify and challenge thinking patterns that contribute to suicide risk, and increased engagement in personally meaningful activities.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• VA Office of Research and Development

  lead FED

Principal Investigators

• Michael S Esterman, PhD · VA Boston Healthcare System Jamaica Plain Campus, Jamaica Plain, MA

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-03-03

Primary Completion

2027-12-31

Completion

2027-12-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations