STRIVE! Suicide and Trauma Reduction Initiative with Director Craig Bryan PsyD

HOPE is the word of the day as I humbly introduce you all to Dr. Bryan as he joins us for describing the first ever randomized clinical trial using telehealth for suicide prevention!

Tune in HERE!

Press Release:

MEDIA CONTACT: Eileen Scahill

Eileen.Scahill@osumc.edu | 614-293-2092

https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/mediaroom

EMBARGOED UNTIL 11 A.M. ET NOVEMBER 12, 2024 

First-ever randomized clinical trial uses telehealth for suicide prevention

Study demonstrates that high-risk suicidal individuals can be safely and effectively treated via video telehealth

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Suicide remains a pressing public health concern. An estimated 703,000 people die by suicide each year worldwide, according to The World Health Organization. In 2022, there were 49,449 suicides in the United States.

A new study found that brief cognitive behavioral therapy for suicide prevention – when delivered remotely via video telehealth – reduces suicide attempts and suicidal ideation.

Researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine led the study that is published online in the journal JAMA Network Open.

The randomized clinical trial of 96 U.S. adults with recent suicidal ideation and/or suicidal behavior found that mental health therapists can see high-risk suicidal patients virtually both safely and effectively.

Brief cognitive behavioral therapy is a treatment that has been shown to reduce suicide attempts by as much as 60% when compared to typical mental health care.

However, delivering this treatment remotely via video telehealth had never been tested. Until now.

The study was conducted between 2021 and 2023, during the height of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

“The impetus for this research question was the nearly overnight shift from mostly in-person to mostly virtual therapy appointments following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Historically, high risk patients were considered inappropriate candidates for virtual healthcare, due to risk and liability concerns,” said principal investigator and Ohio State clinical psychologist Justin C. Baker, PhD.

“We wanted a way to ensure that those who needed care the most were able to receive care during the pandemic,” said Baker, who is the clinical director of Ohio State’s Suicide and Trauma Reduction Initiative (STRIVE) program.

Participants received one of these therapies:

·       brief cognitive behavioral therapy, a suicide-focused treatment that teaches patients how to manage and change distressing emotions and negative thinking

·       present-centered therapy, a goal-oriented treatment that helps participants identify adaptive responses to stressors

The study also showed that brief cognitive behavioral therapy led to significant reductions in suicide attempts when compared to present-centered therapy. Reductions in suicidal ideation occurred in both treatments.

Prior effectiveness trials have compared brief