Real-time Intervention for Suicide Risk Reduction

The aim of this study is to determine whether learning three skills for managing negative emotions and receiving reminders via smartphone to practice these skills reduces how often and how intensely one experiences emotional distress and suicidal thoughts.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Suicidal Ideation; Suicide Attempt
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Ecological momentary assessment (EMA); Behavioral: Treatment as usual (TAU); Behavioral: Brief skills sessions plus EMI skills practice prompts

Detailed Description

The present study is a two-arm parallel design RCT to test the efficacy of using ecological momentary intervention (EMI) to deliver therapeutic content based on the Unified Protocol for the Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP) - an evidence-based transdiagnostic cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that focuses on delivering adaptive skills for managing strong emotions. Participants in this study will be 50 adult psychiatric inpatients with recent suicidal thoughts or behaviors (STBs). Participants will be randomized to receive either the control condition, which consists of treatment as usual (TAU; n = 25) and 4x/daily daily ecological momentary assessment (EMA) of emotions and STBs, or the experimental condition, consisting of TAU, 4x/daily EMA, 3 brief sessions to deliver CBT skills (mindful emotion awareness, cognitive flexibility, and changing emotional behaviors, all drawn from the UP), one discretionary skills booster session, and EMI to prompt guided skills practice (n = 25).

Control participants will receive TAU and be prompted to complete 4x/day EMA of emotions and STBs for the duration of their hospital stay and the 28-day post-discharge period. Participants randomized to the experimental conditions will receive TAU plus three brief treatment sessions delivering core UP skills content (during inpatient stays) and a discretionary booster session to reinforce treatment sessions that may be offered after discharge via either phone or telehealth. Those in the experimental condition will also receive training to use the EMI (which prompts guided skills practice), followed by smartphone-based EMA/EMI for the duration of the inpatient stay and the 28-day post-discharge period.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 41
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02130
      • Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• adult status (18+ years),
• a recent suicide attempt or any report of current suicidal ideation,
• the ability to speak and write English fluently,
• ownership of and consistent access to an internet-capable smartphone (e.g., an iPhone or Android phone), and
• providing at least one collateral contact in cases where we cannot reach the participant

Exclusion criteria:

- the presence of any factor that impairs an individual's ability to provide informed consent and comprehend and effectively participate in the study including: an inability to speak or write English fluently, the presence of gross cognitive impairment due to florid psychosis, intellectual disability, dementia, acute intoxication, or the presence of extremely agitated or violent behavior.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Other: Treatment as usual (TAU) + EMA; Participants will receive TAU and be prompted to complete 4x/day smartphone-based EMA surveys of negative emotion and STBs.	Behavioral: Ecological momentary assessment (EMA); 4x/day brief smartphone-based EMA surveys assessing negative emotions and STBs; Behavioral: Treatment as usual (TAU); TAU (or usual care) during hospitalization and the 28-day post-discharge period
Experimental: Experimental intervention + TAU; Participants will receive TAU plus 3 brief sessions of CBT skills, one discretionary post-discharge skills booster session, and 4x/day EMA and prompted EMI, which guides in-the-moment CBT skills practice.	Behavioral: Ecological momentary assessment (EMA); 4x/day brief smartphone-based EMA surveys assessing negative emotions and STBs; Behavioral: Treatment as usual (TAU); TAU (or usual care) during hospitalization and the 28-day post-discharge period; Behavioral: Brief skills sessions plus EMI skills practice prompts; (1) Three brief treatment sessions delivering core cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) skills (mindful emotion awareness, cognitive flexibility, and changing emotional behaviors) (during hospitalization), (2) a discretionary booster session to reinforce treatment session content (that may be offered after discharge via either phone or telehealth), and (3) ecological momentary intervention (EMI) prompts to engage in guided skills practice exercises via smartphone; Other Names: cognitive behavioral therapy; ecological momentary intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Within-person changes in momentary self-reported intensity of suicidal urges (measured on a 11-point rating scale via ecological momentary assessment) from pre- to post-EMI	Overall changes in momentary self-reported intensity of suicidal urges (measured on a 11-point rating scale up to 4x/day via ecological momentary assessment) from pre- to post-EMI use, among those in the experimental condition only	Through study completion (up to 28 days after inpatient hospital discharge)
Between-condition differences in momentary self-reported intensity of suicidal urges (measured on a 11-point rating scale via ecological momentary assessment)	Means and slopes of momentary self-reported intensity of suicidal urges (measured on a 11-point rating scale up to 4x/day via ecological momentary assessment) will be compared between the experimental and control conditions	Through study completion (up to 28 days after inpatient hospital discharge)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Massachusetts General Hospital
• Collaborators: Rutgers University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 25, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 16, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): February 19, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 18, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 27, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): May 8, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 10, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 6, 2025
• Last Verified: September 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Suicide; Suicidal Ideation; Suicide Attempt
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Self-Injurious Behavior; Behavior; Suicide; Suicidal Ideation; Suicide, Attempted; Behavior Therapy; Psychotherapy; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities; Psychological Tests; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Therapeutics; Ecological Momentary Assessment
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2023P000221

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No