Subjective distress, self-harm, and suicidal ideation or behavior throughout trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral...

Elevations in distress, self-harm, and suicidal ideation or behavior are of significant concern in clinical practice. We examined these in a pilot trial of Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) for transitional age youth (aged 15-25 years) with histories of interpersonal trauma and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder.

Participants were 20 young people (13 females, M = 19.5 years) from a pilot study of TF-CBT. Frequencies of elevated distress, self-harm, and suicidal ideation or behavior were measured throughout treatment sessions and across the treatment phases of TF-CBT.

Across the 279 sessions of TF-CBT (m = 15.5 sessions), there were 16 incidents of elevated distress in seven participants (i.e., six in Phase I and five each in Phases II and III); 15 incidents of self-harming behavior in seven participants (five incidents in each of the three phases) and one incident of both elevated distress and suicide ideation (Phase I).

Findings indicate that there may be a relationship between the experience of in session distress and self-harming behaviors. The importance of safety planning and coping skills (acquired in Phase 1) is stressed to ensure the effective implementation of TF-CBT. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).