Group Therapy for Adolescents at Risk of Suicide: A Scoping Review

Adolescent suicidality is a pressing global health concern, yet group-based therapeutic interventions for this population remain underexplored. This scoping review aimed to systematically map the existing literature on group therapy for adolescents and young adults aged 10-25 years experiencing suicidal ideation or behaviors. Ten peer-reviewed studies were identified through a comprehensive database search and analyzed across key dimensions, including participant demographics, interventions' theoretical frameworks, therapeutic mechanisms, intervention structure, clinical outcomes, and implementation challenges. The findings reveal that group therapy for adolescents at risk of suicide is applied using a variety of theoretical orientations, including cognitive-behavioral, dialectical-behavioral, psychodynamic, and narrative approaches, and across diverse clinical settings. Most interventions were short and time limited. Interventions generally yielded positive outcomes, including reductions in suicidal ideation, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and emotional dysregulation. Despite promising results, studies also had methodoligocal limitations, including small samples and most studies lacked control group or randomization. Furthermore, few interventions included cultural adaptation or addressed the potential risk of suicide contagion in group settings. Taken together, findings underscore the need for further research employing rigorous designs and culturally informed practices. Nonetheless, group therapy appears to be a potentially effective component in the continuum of care for adolescents at risk of suicide.