Efficacy of CBT for Treatment Seeking (CBT-TS) in Untreated Veterans and Service Members at Risk for Suicidal Behavior

Overview

Journal J Gen Intern Med

Publisher Springer

Specialty General Medicine

Date 2023 Mar 25

PMID 36964422

Authors

Tracy Stecker

Nicholas P Allan

Charles Hoge

Lisham Ashrafioun

Kenneth R Conner

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: Military members and Veterans at-risk for suicide are often unlikely to seek behavioral health treatment. The primary aim of this study was to test the efficacy of brief CBT for Treatment Seeking (CBT-TS) to improve behavioral health treatment utilization among U.S. military service members and Veterans at-risk for suicide.

Methods: A total of 841 participants who served in the U.S. military since 9/11 and who reported suicidality but were not in behavioral health treatment were recruited to participate in this trial. Participants were randomly assigned to either brief CBT-TS delivered by phone or an assessment-only control condition. Follow-up assessments were conducted at baseline and months 1, 3, 6, and 12 to track treatment utilization and symptoms.

Results: CBT-TS resulted in significantly greater behavioral health treatment initiation within 1 month compared to the control condition (B = .93, p < .001); and the higher treatment initiation persisted for 12 months post intervention.

Conclusions: This study employed a low-cost, easily implementable one-session intervention administered by phone. The study provides evidence that CBT-TS is efficacious in promoting behavioral health treatment initiation in an adult population at risk for suicidal behavior and showed enduring benefits for 6-12 months. CBT-TS provides a unique strategy for treatment engagement for at-risk adults unlikely to seek treatment.

Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT05077514.

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