Home › Suicide › NCT06151158

Preventing Suicidal Behavior With Diverse High-Risk Youth in Acute Care Settings

Who can join

Ages 12 to 24 · All sexes

Inclusion Criteria:

* Suicide Risk During Acute Care Visit (At least one item in risk assessment is required; check all that apply): \_\_\_ Chief complaint of suicide-related concern (via Medical Record/Other), \_\_\_ Active suicidal ideation endorsed in past 1 month on validated suicide screener, \_\_\_ Suicidal behavior in the past 3 months on validated suicide screener, \_\_\_ Clinician indicated SI in past month or SA in past 3 months.
* Have access to a cellular phone with the ability to receive phone calls and text messages over the 12-month follow- up period
* Adolescent must be verbally fluent and can communicate, understand, and read in either English or Spanish
* Adolescent has been/will be discharged from a higher level of care (i.e. inpatient, day hospital, partial hospitalization program (PHP), or residential treatment program) and back in the community within 4 weeks of their acute care visit. \[Note: this criterion does not apply to all patients - select N/A if this is the case.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Significant cognitive or developmental delays that prevent understanding or using SPI+ or IPT-A-SCI (includes inability to communicate verbally)
* Altered mental status (acute psychosis, intoxication, or mania)
* Unable or unwilling to provide informed consent (adults), assent (minors), or permission (parents/caregivers)
* The services offered through the study are not in the best clinical interest of the patient (e.g., presenting problem requires a different level of care or treatment approach).

About the study

The study will compare the effectiveness of two relatively brief and scalable evidence-based interventions: the Stanley Brown Safety Planning Intervention and Follow-up Contacts (SPI+), a suicide-specific intervention that helps people prevent suicidal crises from escalating, and Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Adolescents Ultra Short Crisis Intervention (IPT-A SCI), a psychotherapeutic crisis intervention treatment for suicidal adolescents that teaches youth skills to prevent suicidal crises and addresses interpersonal problems that lead to suicidal crises. The results will inform the future standard of care for youth at risk for suicide presenting in the ED setting. This project focuses on suicidal youth ages 12-24 in five ethnically and racially diverse urban areas: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; St. Petersburg, Florida; and Northern Manhattan/lower Bronx/eastern Queens communities in New York City, New York.

What is being tested

• Stanley Brown Safety Planning Intervention and Follow-up Contacts (SPI+) (behavioral)
• Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Adolescents Ultra Short Crisis Intervention (IPT-A SCI) (behavioral)

Sponsor: Johns Hopkins University · Participants: 484 · Started: Mar 10, 2025

Contact the study team

• Holly C Wilcox, PhD · Phone: 4103700081
• Catherine Grela · Phone: 2408058868

Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT06151158

Locations in the U.S.

Conditions

• Suicide

From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Sep 30, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.