Intensive Outpatient Treatment for Suicidal Veterans (CAMS)

VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System

Status: Completed

Conditions: Suicidality

Treatments: Behavioral: CAMS

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; Other U.S. Federal agency

Identifiers

NCT01334372

06-1058

Details and patient eligibility

About

This investigation is a feasibility study conducted in a VA outpatient treatment setting. The study is designed to test the feasibility of implementing a novel way of working with suicidal patients, the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS). The primary purpose of the proposed project is to determine if it is possible to train clinicians working in the Mental Health Clinic at the Denver VA Medical Center (VAMC) to utilize this therapeutic framework. This project is extremely timely in relation to expectations of future increased clinical demands among potentially high-risk Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) veterans who may become suicidal in the years to come.

Enrollment: 48 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 89 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. Suicidality endorsed during the regular Mental Health intake interview or at the time of admission.
2. Over the age of 18 years.
3. New or returning patients to the VA MHC.
4. Living within the larger Denver metropolitan region during the duration of the treatment.
5. Willing to travel to the ECHCS Denver VAMC at times other than scheduled therapy appointments to complete follow-up assessment measures.

Exclusion criteria

1. Psychosis that would interfere with an individual's ability to provide informed consent.
2. Imminent suicidality with the need for immediate psychiatric hospitalization, as defined above in the Background section, at the time of MH intake.
3. Current involuntary status for psychiatric hospitalization.
4. Inability to adequately respond to questions regarding the informed consent procedure. See Special Consent Issues section below.

Trial design

48 participants in 2 patient groups

Treatment as Usual

No Intervention group

Description:

Treatment as usual (TAU) outpatient care will consist of existing outpatient clinical practices utilized in the Mental Health Clinic.

CAMS

Experimental group

Description:

First, as discussed above, suicidality is the focus of treatment rather than one of many symptoms being treated. Second is the emphasis on patient and therapist collaborating on treatment rather than the therapist dictating how therapy progresses. Beyond those two basic tenets, each therapist is free to utilize their current clinical skills to conduct psychotherapy.

Treatment:

Behavioral: CAMS