Couples Intervention to Improve Mental Health

Wesleyan University

Status: Unknown

Conditions: Suicide

Treatments: Behavioral: Mental Health Education; Behavioral: Couples Crisis Response Plan

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04084756

00113793

W81XWH-16-2-0004 (Other Grant/Funding Number)

Details and patient eligibility

About

Over the last decade, suicide rates have risen within the military and have remained high. Converging evidence suggests that suicide prevention efforts may be enhanced by explicitly including family members in treatment. The study's objectives are to test the effect of the CCRP, a targeted single session couples intervention on suicide ideation among military service members and Veterans, and to understand how the use of the CCRP impacts suicide risk during the 6 months immediately postdischarge from a psychiatric inpatient unit.

Full description

Over the last decade, suicide rates have risen within the military and have remained high. Converging evidence suggests that suicide prevention efforts may be enhanced by explicitly including family members in treatment, however no couple-bases suicide-specific interventions exist.

The study's objectives are to test the effect of the Couples Crisis Response Plan (CCRP), a targeted single-session couples intervention, on suicide ideation among military service members and Veterans, and to understand how the use of the CCRP impacts suicide risk during the period of time immediately post-discharge from a psychiatric inpatient unit. The CCRP will be compared to an active control condition (mental health education).

The primary aim is to compare the effect of the CCRP to an active control condition on suicide ideation in the 6 months following treatment among military service members and Veterans who have been psychiatrically hospitalized for acute suicide risk and their partners. The CCRP is specifically adapted for use with partnered service members at elevated risk for suicide. A secondary aim is to determine how use of the CCRP skills impacts suicidal ideation over time and identify the role partners play in encouraging use of the plan and managing suicide risk.

Enrollment: 200 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. military service member (active duty or veteran) of any branch or component that has served since 9/11/2001 or the partner of such a service member;
2. that the service member reports active suicide ideation and/or a suicide attempt within the previous 30 days;
3. that the service member is in a committed, exclusive, cohabiting relationship of at least 6 months;
4. the willingness of the service member's partner to participate in research.

Exclusion criteria

1. a psychiatric condition, medical condition, or cognitive disability/deficit that precludes the ability of either partner to provide informed consent
2. physical aggression within the past year reported by either partner on a behaviorally-anchored screener for moderate to severe partner violence or extreme relationship distress (a score of of less than 9 on the Couples Satisfaction Index-4)
3. inability of either partner to read or speak English

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Triple Blind

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200 participants in 2 patient groups

Couples Crisis Response Plan

Experimental group

Treatment:

Behavioral: Couples Crisis Response Plan

Mental Health Education

Active Comparator group

Treatment:

Behavioral: Mental Health Education