Supplementing Brief Psychotherapy With a Mobile App

Suicide 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

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Key information

Conditions

Suicide and Self-harm Behavior Behavioral Symptoms Emotion Regulation Emotional Regulation Self-Control Self-Injurious Behavior Social Behavior Suicidal Ideation Suicide Suicide, Attempted

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Rutgers University Behavioral Healthcare

Piscataway, New Jersey, 08854, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Adult status (18+ years)
Admission to eligible units in our partner hospital with a reason for admission having to do with suicide risk
The ability to speak and write English fluently,
Ownership of and consistent access to an internet-capable smartphone (e.g., an iPhone or Android phone)

Exclusion criteria

The presence of any factor that impairs an individual's ability to provide informed consent and comprehend and effectively participate in the study including: an inability to speak or write English fluently, the presence of gross cognitive impairment due to florid psychosis, intellectual disability, dementia, acute intoxication, or the presence of extremely agitated or violent behavior.

Treatment and study plan

Unified Protocol

Behavioral

Unified Protocol based treatment, modified for use in brief treatment on inpatient units

Primary outcomes

Suicidal thoughts

Time frame: Overall changes in momentary self-reported intensity of suicidal urges (on a 11-point scale up to 4x/ day via ecological momentary assessment) from pre- to post-EMI use, across the study period, which is approximately four weeks post discharge

Within-person changes in momentary self-reported intensity of suicidal urges (measured on a 11-point rating scale via ecological momentary assessment) from pre- to post-EMI
Self-efficacy for managing negative emotion

Time frame: Beginning of study and end-of-study, approximately four weeks post discharge

Measured using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) self-efficacy for managing negative emotions scale. The scale is measured with four five-point scale items, summed to a score ranging from 4 to 20 where higher scores are better.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Other

Collaborators

Massachusetts General Hospital
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Registry information

Important dates

Study start: 2023
Primary completion: 2024
Study completion: 2024
First posted: May 19, 2023
Registry last updated: Jun 13, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.

Completed