Treat: Evidence-based Approaches
Treat recognizes the importance of evidence-based therapies to manage suicidal thoughts. Integration of evidence based modalities into practice is essential in delivering care that can meet the needs of youth and family.
Treatment for youth at risk of suicide spans a continuum of care, including brief interventions in the emergency department, intensive crisis stabilization and mobile crisis services, outpatient therapy, and higher levels of care such as inpatient or partial hospitalization programs. Integrating evidence-based treatments for suicidal thoughts across these settings as well as embedding them into standardized protocols helps ensure consistent, high-quality support for youth and their families during a mental health crisis.
Interventions
Evidence based interventions include: Safety Planning Initiative, Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Suicide Prevention (CBT-SP), Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS), and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).
Identifying level of care is also important in determining treatment interventions that will be most impactful to patients and families. Through integration of evidence-based treatment interventions into diverse settings, the goal is to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations and deliver care in settings that best fits the needs of youth and their families/supports.
Other Resources
Cognitive-behavioral family treatment for suicide attempt prevention: a randomized controlled trial.
Asarnow JR, Hughes JL, Babeva KN, Sugar CA. Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolesc Psychiatry, 2017; 56:506–514.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2017.03.015
Managing suicidal risk: A collaborative approach
Jobes DA. Guilford Publications, 2023, 3rd Edition
ISBN 978-1-4625-5269-6
Comparison of the Safety Planning Intervention With Follow-up vs Usual Care of Suicidal Patients Treated in the Emergency Department
Stanley B, Brown GK, Brenner LA, Galfalvy HC, Currier GW, Knox KL, Chaudhury SR, Bush AL, Green KL. JAMA Psychiatry, 2018, 75(9):894–900.
DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2018.1776
Treatments for the Prevention and Management of Suicide: A Systematic Review
D'Anci KE, Uhl S, Giradi G, Martin C. Annals of Internal Medicine, 2019, 171(5), 334-342.
DOI: 10.7326/M19-0869
Safety Planning Interventions for Suicide Prevention in Children and Adolescents
Albaum C, Irwin SH, Muha J, Schumacher A, Clarissa S, Finkelstein Y, Korczak DJ. JAMA Pediatrics, 2025, 179(8).
DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.1012
Association of the Youth-Nominated Support Team Intervention for Suicidal Adolescents With 11- to 14-Year Mortality Outcomes
King CA, Arango A, Kramer A., Busby D, Czyz E, Foster CE, YST Study Team. JAMA Psychiatry, 2019, 76(5), 492-498.
DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2018.4358
The Youth-Nominated Support Team–Version II for suicidal adolescents: A randomized controlled intervention trial.
King CA, Klaus N, Kramer A, Venkataraman S, Quinlan P, Gillespie B. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2009, 77(5).
DOI: 10.1037/a0016552
Evidence-Based Interventions for Youth Suicide Risk
Busby DR, Hatkevich C, McGuire TC, King CA. Current Psychiatry Reports, 2020, 22(2).
DOI: 10.1007/s11920-020-1129-6
Teen Options for Change: An Intervention for Young Emergency Patients Who Screen Positive for Suicide Risk
King CA, Gipson PY, Horwitz AG, Opperman JK. Psychiatric services, 2015, 66(1), 97-100.
DOI: 10.1176/appi.ps.201300347
Patients who attempted suicide and failed to attend mental health centres.
Jauregui J, Martínez ML, Rubio G, Santo-Domingo J. European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists, 1999; 14(4), 205–209. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0924-9338(99)80743-3
Emergency Care Follow-Up for Children and Adolescents With Suicide Attempts or Ideation
Hamel C, Basharat S, Severn M. CADTH Health Technology Review, 2023. https://doi.org/10.51731/cjht.2023.704
