Suicide prevention is the top clinical priority for VA/DoD. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the United States and worldwide with suicide rates among U.S. military Veterans doubling (27.7 per 100,000) the rate of civilian levels. Despite a rise in prevention efforts, rates have continued to increase. Theories of suicide and rehabilitation psychology stress the importance of the person-environment interaction in contributing to one's disability experience. Several studies have found that the most frequent situation precipitating suicide was a problem with a romantic partner. In contrast, people with higher relationship satisfaction are less likely to have suicidal thoughts. Prevention of suicide in high risk Veterans is of vital importance and the quality of one's intimate relationship is an understudied intervention target for suicide prevention. Despite the fact that VA/DoD recommend and Veterans desire treatments that involve family members, currently no couple-based suicide-specific interventions exist. The goals of this CDA-II proposal are to refine and pilot a novel suicide-specific couple-based intervention: Treatment for Relationships and Safety Together (TR\&ST). TR\&ST adapts an evidence-based intervention for suicide, Brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (BCBT) for Suicide, to be dyadically focused and integrates Cognitive Behavioral Couple Therapy (CBCT) skills. The proposed 5-year study consists of two phases. Phase 1: treatment refinement with 12 couples (N=24) and Phase 2: pilot Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) of TR\&ST compared to VA Standard Suicide Intervention, which will involve suicide risk assessment, VA safety planning, Suicide Prevention Coordinator (SPC) follow-up, and referral to outpatient mental health with 60 couples (N=120). The intervention period is 11-weeks and the entire study period is approximately 7 months. Couples in both phases will be quantitatively assessed at baseline, mid-treatment, post-treatment, and 3-months post-treatment. The primary outcome to be evaluated is change in severity of suicidal thoughts. Secondary outcomes concern changes in interpersonal functioning theorized to influence suicidal thoughts and behavior.
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Change in severity of suicidal ideation from baseline
Timeframe: Delivered at baseline, 7 weeks after baseline (mid-treatment), 13 weeks after baseline (post-treatment), and 25 weeks after baseline