Advancing Suicide Intervention Strategies for Teens During High Risk Periods

Project Summary/Abstract The proposed project is designed to evaluate the impact of two interventions designed to bridge acute care and outpatient services in comparison with usual care. The long-term goal of this program of research is to improve healthcare system’s response to youth who present to acute care due to suicide risk and effectively reduce risk during the transition to outpatient care. The current study aims to evaluate treatment that begins with Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) or Safety Planning Intervention with follow-up (SPI+). Adolescents, parents, and clinicians will participate in the project to advance to following Research Aims: 1) Assess the comparative effectiveness of CAMS and SPI+ compared to usual care and 2) Evaluate the mechanism of change accounting for the therapeutic effects of the interventions. The project aligns with Strategy 3.2 and 3.3 in the NIMH Strategic Plan and the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention Research Prioritization Task Force through the evaluation of interventions to optimize outcomes in community practice settings.