Pragmatic randomised controlled trial of two brief community practice-based interventions for self-harm and suicidal...

Improving preventative interventions for self-harm and suicide-related behaviour is a mental health policy priority. Existing evidence-based interventions can be lengthy, resource-heavy, difficult to access, and are not always acceptable or effective. Extending support through brief and remotely delivered interventions outside of traditional clinical services brings potential to expand access to timely and effective support.

The primary objective is to assess the effectiveness of two brief (6 week) interventions (Integrative Therapy and Stabilisation) in reducing self-harm frequency.

We evaluated data from a practice-based randomised controlled trial of hybrid Integrative Therapy and Stabilisation utilising a no-treatment control group to determine the effectiveness of each intervention targeting frequency of self-harm (primary outcome), suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms (secondary outcomes). Participants, 82 help-seeking adults with current self-harm behaviour aged 18-59 years (mean age=30.57, SD=12.5), received either Stabilisation (n=25) or Integrative Psychotherapy (n=25) or were assigned to a control waitlist (n=32). Six 1-hour sessions were delivered via video call in a 1:1 format. Outcome measures were completed at baseline and immediately postintervention.

In comparison to waitlist controls, those receiving Stabilisation had greater reductions preintervention to postintervention in self-harm frequency, suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms. Those receiving Integrative Psychotherapy had greater reductions in self-harm frequency and suicidal ideation, but not depression symptoms, compared with waitlist.

Interventions delivered in a service setting show promise in improving outcomes for self-harm and suicidal ideation, and to a lesser extent depression symptoms, over a 6-week period. Further evaluation and replication, including in longitudinal studies and fully randomised controlled trials, would be needed to build on these preliminary findings and extend beyond the current setting.

Short, remotely delivered interventions outside of traditional clinical settings may offer an effective and timely treatment option.