Suicide prevention inpatient group treatment-A treatment development and feasibility study

One mainstay of psychiatric treatment for suicidal crises is inpatient psychiatric hospitalization. Despite the need to secure immediate safety and stabilization, inpatient treatment for acutely suicidal patients remains diagnosis-specific, which may fail to directly target and adequately manage suicidal behavior as a symptom and reason for admission or treatment. The post-discharge period is a high-risk period for repeat suicide attempts or death by suicide, but overburdened workforce and high patient turnover make it difficult to provide suicide-specific treatment.

In response to this need, we developed the Suicide Prevention Inpatient Group Treatment (SPIGT), a four-module, group-based intervention, which provides evidence-supported concrete tools and psychoeducation to directly address suicidality. To assess feasibility and acceptability of implementation, the SPIGT was piloted on an inpatient psychiatric unit starting in 2016. Group participants were given optional, anonymous surveys after each module. Unit clinicians also completed optional, anonymous surveys to assess their attitudes towards the intervention.

Results indicate that participants responded very favorably to each module, and that unit clinicians felt that the implementation of this intervention was feasible and acceptable.

The SPIGT shows promise as a scalable suicide-specific, brief intervention, which addresses an unmet and critical need in suicide prevention.