Group Post-Admission Cognitive Therapy for Suicidality vs Individual Supportive Therapy for the prevention of repeat suicide attempts: a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Suicide is a serious public health problem. The development and use of effective treatments for people hospitalized for suicide attempts remain a priority. Regarding psychosocial treatment, the evidence for treatments that effectively prevent suicide repetition of suicide attempts is extremely thin. There is some evidence that cognitive behavioural therapy may be effective for reducing suicide behaviour. The primary aim of this study is to compare Group Post-Admission Cognitive Therapy for Suicidality (GPACTS) versus Individual Supportive Therapy (IST) for preventing suicide. METHODS: In total, 240 participants with a high suicide risk score according to a Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) will be randomized to either GPACTS or IST. This is a multicentre, parallel group, randomized (1:1 ratio), two-tailed-superiority trial with endpoint-assessor blinding. Patients meeting inclusion criteria during a screening visit will be enrolled in the study and randomized into two groups: one group will undergo 6 weeks of GPACTS, and the second group will undergo 6 weeks of IST. Following 6 weeks of interventional therapy, patients are followed up for 12 months. Follow-up for both groups is identical and includes the administration of questionnaires at baseline and then within 10 days after the end of therapy sessions and then at 3, 6 and 12 months following the end of GPACTS/IST sessions. DISCUSSION: To our knowledge, this is the first RCT of its kind to be conducted in France, and so far, there are no studies in the literature on group psychotherapy for the treatment of individuals who have attempted suicide. The outcomes will provide clear guidance for professionals to apply psychological intervention with suicide attempts. The protocol respects ethical principles, and ethical approval was obtained from the local ethics committee. The results will be disseminated through an original research published as original research in peer-reviewed manuscript, through a therapist manual for cognitive therapy, and presentations at research conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02664701. Registered on January 27, 2017.