BEACON Suicide Prevention in Men Study
Intentional Self-HarmSuicideThe purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of problem-solving therapy (PST), supplemented by a smartphone application, in the treatment of men who present to the Emergency Departments in Ontario. A total of 100 men in 5 Emergency Departments will be enrolled and randomized to receive either face-to-face PST or face-to-face PST supplemented by the BEACON Suicide Prevention smartphone application. Face-to-face therapy may be provided via videoconference to accommodate patient preference and ongoing pandemic restrictions. Participants will complete six sessions of PST and outcomes will be measured at baseline, 6 weeks, two post-therapy follow-up time points (3 and 6 months). Participants will also be asked to complete a qualitative interview about their participation in the study and their experience with the smartphone application.
Development and Initial Testing of a Couple-Based Intervention to Optimize Suicide and Self-Injury...
Self-injurious Thoughts and BehavioursBorderline Personality DisorderSelf-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs), including suicide, thinking about suicide, and self-injury without intent to die, are major public health crises, with variably effective, and sometimes long and expensive, interventions. SITBs are particularly common in borderline personality disorder (BPD). Moreover, people with BPD often cannot access SITB treatment, drop out of them, and may lose their improvements after them. Reducing SITBs in BPD requires innovative interventions that have greater impact and are faster to deliver. SITBs are particularly influenced by emotion dysregulation (i.e., intense, negative emotion and difficulties changing it) and intimate relationship dysfunction, but leading evidence-based SITB interventions typically focus on the former, while neglecting the latter. For other mental health problems, couple treatments result in comparable or better individual outcomes relative to individually-delivered treatments, with added benefits of enhanced intimate relationship functioning. SITB treatment outcomes in BPD could likely be expedited and optimized with a couple intervention that targets emotion dysregulation in a relational context and intimate relationship dysfunction. This project aims to develop, refine, and test a brief SITB intervention delivered conjointly to individuals with BPD and SITBs (i.e., "patients") and their intimate partners (i.e., "partners")- Sage (formerly known as COMPASS (Connecting, Overcoming, and Moving Past Suicide and Self- injury))- that targets both emotion dysregulation and intimate relationship dysfunction to reduce SITBs and BPD symptoms in the short- and long-term. Prior to formal testing in an uncontrolled trial, it is important to solicit preliminary data regarding the clarity, accessibility, safety, tolerability, and efficacy of Sage. This project involves 3 Phases: translating Sage outlines into a manual (Phase 1); refining Sage (Phase 2); and an uncontrolled pilot trial of Sage (Phase 3). In Phase 1, the three stages of Sage will be manualized to focus on (1) developing a conjoint safety plan to reduce SITB risk, (2) reducing emotion dysregulation and intimate relationship dysfunction, and (3) changing patterns that maintain SITBs. In Phase 2, Sage will be delivered to 5-10 patients with BPD and SITBs and their partners (i.e., 5-10 couples) who will provide feedback about whether Sage is clear, helpful, and useable. This feedback will be used to refine the Sage manual. In Phase 3, the investigators will test whether Sage is safe, initially efficacious, and feasible by administering it to 15-20 patients with BPD and SITB and their partners (i.e., 15-20 couples). The investigators will examine whether Sage results in changes in SITBs and BPD symptoms in patients with BPD and SITBs, and SITB risk factors (e.g., emotion dysregulation and intimate relationship dysfunction) in both patients and partners. These outcomes will be measured multiple times per day during treatment using participant's smartphones (i.e., ecological momentary assessment), and interviews/questionnaires administered at the beginning, middle, end, and at 3 months after the intervention. The investigators predict that Sage will reduce SITBs and BPD symptoms in the patient with BPD and SITBs and improve emotion dysregulation and intimate relationship dysfunction in both patients with BPD and SITBs and their partners. This study offers a novel SITB and BPD treatment that directly targets SITBs, BPD symptoms, and the factors that drive them. Its short duration broadens the accessibility of BPD and SITB interventions with the potential to contribute to reducing SITBs and BPD symptoms on a large scale. During this period of social distancing due to COVID-19, Sage will be delivered remotely via secure videoconferencing (Zoom Healthcare). As social distancing restrictions lift, Sage will be delivered in the laboratory.
Caring Contacts: A Strength-based, Suicide Prevention Trial in 4 Native Communities
Suicidal IdeationSuicide1 moreSuicide is the second leading cause of death for American Indians and Alaska Natives aged 18 years and older. This study will evaluate Caring Contacts, a low-cost, sustainable intervention for suicide prevention that sends caring messages to people at risk. The investigators will implement the intervention at four tribal sites, leveraging community strengths and values to address this tragic health disparity in an underserved minority population.
Administration of Donor T Cells With the Caspase-9 Suicide Gene
Acute Lymphoblastic LeukemiaMyelodysplastic Syndrome8 morePatients will be receiving a stem cell transplant as treatment for their disease. As part of the stem cell transplant, patients will be given very strong doses of chemotherapy, which will kill all their existing stem cells. A close relative of the patient will be identified, whose stem cells are not a perfect match for the patient's, but can be used. This type of transplant is called "allogeneic", meaning that the cells are from a donor. With this type of donor who is not a perfect match, there is typically an increased risk of developing GvHD, and a longer delay in the recovery of the immune system. GvHD is a serious and sometimes fatal side-effect of stem cell transplant. GvHD occurs when the new donor cells (graft) recognize that the body tissues of the patient (host) are different from those of the donor. In this study, investigators are trying to see whether they can make special T cells in the laboratory that can be given to the patient to help their immune system recover faster. As a safety measure, we want to "program" the T cells so that if, after they have been given to the patient, they start to cause GvHD, we can destroy them ("suicide gene"). Investigators will obtain T cells from a donor, culture them in the laboratory, and then introduce the "suicide gene" which makes the cells sensitive to a specific drug called AP1903. If the specially modified T cells begin to cause GvHD, the investigators can kill the cells by administering AP1903 to the patient. We have had encouraging results in a previous study regarding the effective elimination of T cells causing GvHD, while sparing a sufficient number of T cells to fight infection and potentially cancer. More specifically, T cells made to carry a gene called iCasp9 can be killed when they encounter the drug AP1903. To get the iCasp9 gene into T cells, we insert it using a virus called a retrovirus that has been made for this study. The AP1903 that will be used to "activate" the iCasp9 is an experimental drug that has been tested in a study in normal donors with no bad side-effects. We hope we can use this drug to kill the T cells. The major purpose of this study is to find a safe and effective dose of "iCasp9" T cells that can be given to patients who receive an allogeneic stem cell transplant. Another important purpose of this study is to find out whether these special T cells can help the patient's immune system recover faster after the transplant than they would have otherwise.
Connecting National Guard Service Members Through Education in Crisis Line Facilitation Training...
SuicideNational Guard (NG) are affected by suicide at a much higher rate than civilians. The Military and Veterans Crisis Line (MVCL) is not being used as often as we would expect. The purpose of this study is to find out whether a group-based training session will impact awareness and use of the Military and Veterans Crisis Line (MVCL) among members of the National Guard.
WellPATH-PREVENT: A Mobile Intervention for Middle-Aged and Older Adults Hospitalized for Suicidal...
SuicideAttempted2 moreThe goal of this project is to test whether WellPATH-PREVENT (a novel, mobile psychosocial intervention) improves a specific aspect of emotion regulation, i.e., cognitive reappraisal ability, and reduces suicide risk in middle-aged and older adults (50-90 years old) who have been discharged after a suicide-related hospitalization (i.e. for suicidal ideation or suicide attempt).
Reducing Suicide Risk in Adolescents and Young Adults Via a Psychobehavioral Intervention to Regularize...
Bipolar DisorderMajor Depressive Disorder3 moreThe purpose of this study is to advance a non-pharmacologic suicide preventive intervention with wide dissemination potential as an innovative high-yield solution to reduce suicide rates. The investigators aim to achieve this with this study of Brain Emotion Circuitry Self-Monitoring and Regulation Therapy for Daily Rhythms (BE-SMART-DR), that provides self-directed strategies to regularize sleep and other DRs to reduce short-term suicide risk that can be used lifelong to potentially also reduce long-term suicide risk.
Suicide Risk Scale and Distress Intervention for the Patients With Chronic Medical Illness or Physical...
Chronic IllnessesPhysical DisabilityThe aims of this study are developments of distress intervention and a suicidal risk scale for the patients with chronic medical illness or physical disabilities. To do these things, four times of interview & completion of self-report scale will be done, and newly developed distress intervention will be simulated to subject group and control group.
Pilot RCT of a Video-based Intervention for Suicide Prevention
Suicidal IdeationSuicidal Behaviors1 moreThe investigators will develop a brief video-based intervention for suicide prevention, called LifePlans. LifePlans will be tested in a pilot randomized controlled trial (n = 40) to examine its feasibility and acceptability. Investigators will recruit patients admitted to a psychiatric hospital for suicidal thoughts and behaviors who will receive the intervention for 4 weeks post-discharge. Patients will be assessed at hospital baseline, 1 month post-discharge, and 6 months post-discharge.
Crisis Response Planning for Military Personnel
SuicidalSuicide Threat1 moreThe study is a randomized trial comparing outcomes of active duty service members who present to the emergency department at risk for suicide and receive care from providers trained in crisis response planning versus those providing treatment as usual.