Extensions of Resurgence as Choice
Problem BehaviorAggression1 moreAlthough behavioral treatments for decreasing destructive behavior, such as differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA), are effective in the clinic, problem behavior often returns when a caregiver does not give the child their way in the natural environment (e.g., caregiver is busy with an infant sibling). This form of treatment relapse is known as resurgence. The goal of the current study is to evaluate whether alternating sessions in which the child can have their way (i.e., "on" sessions) with sessions in which the child can not have their way (i.e., "off" sessions) helps to mitigate resurgence.
A Comparison of Two Brief Suicide Prevention Interventions Tailored for Youth on the Autism Spectrum...
Suicidal IdeationSuicidal and Self-injurious Behavior2 moreRates of suicide have increased significantly over the past two decades, particularly among youth. Compared to the general population, autistic people are significantly more likely to think about suicide, attempt suicide, and die by suicide. Autistic individuals have identified suicide prevention as a top research priority; however, little is known about how to best help autistic youth at risk for suicide. The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of two suicide prevention strategies tailored for autistic individuals: the Safety Planning Intervention tailored for Autistic individuals (SPI-A) and SPI-A plus structured follow-up contacts (SPI-A+).
Supplementing Brief Psychotherapy With a Mobile App
Suicide and Self-harmEmotion RegulationSuicide is among the leading causes of death worldwide, and the risk of suicide is highest in the period immediately following discharge from inpatient psychiatric care.1Importantly, despite the enormously elevated risk during this period, nearly 50% of patients do not attend scheduled therapy after discharge. Even among those who do attend therapy, however, the skills learned in treatment may be difficult to use during the highly distressing time leading up to and during a suicide crisis. Most traditional treatments are not designed to be effective during a suicide crisis. In order to reduce the risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in general and specifically during the post-discharge period, interventions are needed that: (1) are easily adhered to and (2) are accessible and effective during a suicide crisis. As such, the purpose of this research study is to test an innovative, new intervention in order to develop an effective and accessible intervention for those at high risk for suicide
Therapeutic Evaluative Conditioning to Reduce Adolescents' Self-injurious Thoughts and Behaviors...
Self-Injurious BehaviorSuicidal Ideation1 moreSuicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among adolescents, with the highest risk period for suicide being the month following psychiatric inpatient hospitalization. The investigators propose testing a brief, scalable intervention using evaluative conditioning aimed at reducing suicidal thoughts and behaviors among adolescents during and after inpatient hospitalization. Scalable interventions, such as the one proposed that reduce suicide risk during this markedly high-risk period, could result in large-scale decreases in suicide death.
Emotional Dysregulation in Para-suicidal Behavior
Self HarmSuicide3 moreThis is a naturalistic cohort pre-post study investigating aspects of emotional processing and how possible changes in emotional processing is related to the successful treatment of non-suicidal self-injury and suicidal ideation in a program of Dialectical Behavior Therapy. In addition we wish to identify to what extent the intensity and frequency of non-suicidal self-injury and suicidal ideation is related to difficulty in emotion regulation, as indicated by self-report measures and psychophysiological measures.
Predictors of Clinical Course and Treatment Response in DBT Programmes
Self HarmBorderline Personality DisorderThe project is a collaboration between The National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention (NSSF) and clinical units with Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) programmes. A methodological and technological platform has been established that enables clinicians to deliver high quality treatments over extended periods of time, to evaluate their own performance and productivity and to report it in a uniform and systematic way that will enable comparison across clinical settings and programmes. The collected data constitute the basis for conducting the clinical study with the overall aim to study predictors of the clinical course and treatment response in patients admitted to DBT programmes in Norway.
Community Outpatient Psychotherapy Engagement Service for Self-harm
Self-HarmDepressionBackground: Self-harm (SH) is any act of intentional self-injury or self-poisoning, with or without the intention to die. People who SH are at high risk for future suicide and often suffer considerable emotional distress. Depression is common among people who SH and may be an underlying driver of self-harm behaviour. Treating depression in people who SH has the potential to reduce the risk of further SH and suicide. Self-harm is often repeated, and risk of repetition is highest immediately after an act of self-harm. Readily accessible brief talking therapies show promise in helping people who SH, but further evaluation of these approaches is needed. The Community Outpatient Psychological Engagement Service for Self-Harm (COPESS) is a brief talking therapy intervention for depression and self-harm. This intervention was shown to be feasible and acceptable in hospital emergency department settings, but accessibility was limited; thus, the investigators wish to develop and test a community-based version of this intervention. The COPESS project moves this therapy into a community setting, thereby increasing the number of people who can be helped, especially those in hard-to-reach groups and from disadvantaged areas. Aim: To assess the feasibility of conducting a trial of the COPESS intervention in a community setting, for people with depression who self-harm, in relation to participant recruitment and retention. Therapy, acceptability and safety of the intervention will also be assessed. Methods: Using a Single Blind Randomised Control Trial (RCT) design, the investigators will recruit a sample of n=60 participants with a history of SH within the last six months, who are also currently depressed. Recruitment will take place via GP practices for patients who: 1) seek consultation for self-harm; 2) have consulted for self-harm in the previous 6 months (determined by GPs' search of their own data-systems); or 3) self-refer via their GP. Following baseline assessment participants will be randomly allocated to either receive COPESS plus Treatment as Usual [TAU; n = 30)] or TAU alone (n=30). Follow-up assessments will take place at one, two and three months. Recruitment rates, attrition and data completeness will be monitored. Qualitative interviews with participants and stakeholders will further investigate feasibility.
TEENS Multi-site Trial
Self-Injurious BehaviorEmotion Regulation Individual Therapy for Adolescents, also called ERITA, is a youth friendly online therapy aiming to provide skills and train emotion regulation. The aim of the TEENS Multi-site Trial is to investigate the effect of ERITA, including an app, as add-on to treatment as usual in young patients referred to Mental Health Services. We expect 356 families to participate from three designated Regions in Denmark.
Neuro- and Biofeedback in Nonsuicidal Self-injury
Nonsuicidal Self InjuryEmotion RegulationNonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is defined as the direct, deliberate destruction of one's own body tissue without suicidal intent, typically including behaviors such as cutting, burning, or hitting oneself. The risk of engaging in NSSI is particularly high during adolescence. NSSI is associated with impairments in emotion regulation and NSSI behavior serves as an attempt to regulate emotion. We propose to examine whether training adolescents with NSSI to self-regulate using emotion regulation skills to down-regulate hemodynamic activity of the salience network, involved in emotional processing. Moreover, we propose to examine whether limbic-prefrontal cortex connectivity can be increased following neurofeedback, thereby helping adolescents find an optimal way to emotionally regulate with the help of neurofeedback, instead of engaging in NSSI to regulate emotions. We also aim to examine effects of real-time biofeedback by investigating if adolescents can regulate their psychophysiological activity during emotional reactivity with biofeedback. Sixty participants with NSSI will be recruited and offered either real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (rt-fMRI-NF) (n = 30) or real-time biofeedback (n = 30) training. Participants each each condition will then be randomized to either an active or a control condition (n = 15/group). Participants will take part in three runs of feedback training. Changes in emotional reactivity as measured with facial electromyography (EMG) before and after feedback training will be the proximal outcome measure together with changes of the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) response during real-time fMRI-neurofeedback for the neurofeedback training. Proximal outcome measures for the biofeedback will include psychophysiological measures of emotional reactivity (facialEMG). More distal outcome measures for both neuro- and biofeedback will be measures of NSSI: frequency, methods and severity as well as self-report measures of difficulties with regulating emotions, emotional reactivity and psychiatric symptoms.
Basic and Applied Research on Extinction Bursts
Problem BehaviorAggression1 moreAlthough highly effective, treatments like FCT include extinction, which can have adverse side effects. The extinction burst, an increase in the frequency or intensity of destructive behavior at the start of treatment, is the most common side effect of extinction, and can increase the risk of harm to the patient and others. The goal of the current study is to evaluate the prevalence of extinction bursts when various parameters of reinforcement (i.e., rate, magnitude, quality) are manipulated.