Dynamic Deconstructive Psychotherapy Versus Brief Intervention and Contact for Suicidal Adolescents and Young Adults

NCT ID: NCT05988489

Last Updated: 2024-12-03

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

106 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2023-10-25

Study Completion Date

2028-03-31

Brief Summary

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The purpose of this clinical trial is to assess whether 6 months of treatment with Dynamic Deconstructive Psychotherapy (DDP) is more effective for reducing thoughts of suicide in suicidal adolescents and young adults than usual care in the community supplemented with Brief Intervention and Contact (BIC). DDP and BIC are two evidence-based practices shown to be more effective than usual care at reducing suicidality. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive DDP treatment with safety planning and optional medication management or BIC treatment with safety planning and optional medication management. Participants in both groups will receive the assigned treatment at SUNY Upstate Medical University's Psychiatry High Risk Program (PHRP). Each participant is anticipated to take part in this trial for up to one year.

Detailed Description

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Currently, it is uncertain which treatments work best to reduce the frequency and intensity of suicidal thoughts in adolescents and young adults. Usual care typically involves a combination of counseling and psychiatric medications targeting the underlying psychiatric conditions. However, usual care is sometimes ineffective at reducing thoughts of suicide. In previous studies, Dynamic Deconstructive Psychotherapy (DDP) and Brief Intervention and Contact (BIC) have been shown to be more effective than usual care at reducing suicidality. The investigators anticipate that participants in the DDP treatment group will achieve greater reductions in suicidal thoughts after 6 months of treatment than participants in the BIC treatment group, as assessed by a combined measure of suicide ideation (CSI).

DDP is a manual-based psychodynamic therapy developed at Upstate by the principal investigator for severely ill individuals with borderline personality disorder, but has since been applied to other disorders. DDP combines elements of translational neuroscience, object relations theory, and deconstruction philosophy and involves weekly one-hour individual sessions for up to 12 months. DDP differs fundamentally from most other therapies in that it is a recovery-based model, instead of a chronic illness-based model of care. Instead of providing advice, problem-solving, or skills to cope with the symptoms and dysfunction of chronic illnesses, DDP attempts to address the underlying vulnerabilities of these illnesses in order to provide transformative healing leading to recovery. During weekly sessions, clients recount recent emotion-laden experiences, explore their emotions and reactions, reflect upon their experiences in increasingly integrative, complex, and realistic ways, learn how to develop close, authentic relationships, and work towards self-acceptance and self-compassion.

Two randomized controlled trials of DDP have been conducted and published, one in Syracuse and the other in Iran by independent groups of investigators. These trials showed strong and significant treatment effects across a broad range of outcomes, including borderline personality disorder symptoms, social and occupational functioning, depression, substance use, dissociation, and suicidal behaviors. A naturalistic cohort study comparing DDP to dialectical behavior therapy indicated statistically significant superiority of DDP for depression, borderline personality disorder, functioning, and self-injury. After an independent investigation of the evidence-base of DDP research, the federal agency SAMHSA included DDP in its National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices and later in its national Suicide Prevention Resource Center as a treatment with evidence of effectiveness for depression, alcohol abuse, borderline personality disorder, and suicidal behaviors.

BIC is a well-established protocol-based intervention developed by the World Health Organization for providing brief supportive contacts and coordination of care. There have been numerous studies documenting reductions in suicide ideation and/or attempts when safety planning is combined with brief supportive contacts by phone, postcards, or brief follow-up visits after suicide-related events. Brief supportive contacts in combination with safety planning and facilitation of transitions in care from inpatient to outpatient settings have become a best practice in suicide prevention, and are essential components of the Zero Suicide Model of care. In randomized controlled trials, BIC has shown efficacy in preventing suicide and reducing suicide attempts, as well as in reducing suicide ideation when combined with safety planning.

This study will enroll 106 participants, with 53 participants in each group. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either DDP plus safety planning and psychiatric management or BIC plus safety planning and psychiatric management. Participants in the DDP treatment group will meet with an assigned therapist for 50 to 60 minutes on a weekly basis for 12 months. Participants in the BIC treatment group will meet with an assigned therapist for a 60-minute initial session and then eight 30-minute follow-up visits scheduled at 1, 2, 4 weeks and 2, 3, 4, 6, and 12 months after study entry. Outcome measures are administered by a research coordinator at baseline and 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after study entry.

Randomization will involve a minimization method of group assignment to ensure comparability of the two treatment groups on the following three variables: 1) treatment arm; 2) adolescent vs. adult and 3) initial C-SSRS suicide ideation score of 2 or 3 vs. score of 4 or 5. This approach of matched group metrics involves assigning scores to each group based upon the distribution of the selected variables within each group and on each group's total number of participants. Participants are assigned to a given group so as to minimize the differences in total scores between the two groups. In the instances where differences in scores between the groups are equivalent, the participant is assigned randomly by a random number generator.

The investigators will compare the two groups of study participants (DDP and BIC) in intent-to-treat analyses. The primary outcome will be the change in Combined Suicide Ideation (CSI) over the first 6-month time interval. The change in CSI scores over the first 6 months will be analyzed by two-factor mixed model analysis of variance (ANOVA), with time as the repeated measure within-subject factor and group (DDP and BIC) as a between-subject factor. Missing data points will be estimated through multiple imputation.

Conditions

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Suicidal Ideation

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Dynamic Deconstructive Psychotherapy (DDP)

53 participants will meet with an assigned DDP therapist in-person or through televideo for 50 to 60 minutes on a weekly basis for 12 months. Participants will also meet with a psychiatric provider for a 60-minute psychiatric consultation with at least monthly 30-minute follow-up visits. In addition, participants in this arm will have the option of attending family and group therapy if interested and indicated. At baseline, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months, participants will meet with a research coordinator for 60-minute visits to complete outcome measures.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Dynamic Deconstructive Psychotherapy (DDP)

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

DDP treatment with an assigned therapist for up to 12 months

Brief Intervention and Contact (BIC)

53 participants will meet with an assigned BIC therapist in-person or through televideo for an initial 60-minute visit with eight 30-minute follow-up contacts at 1, 2, 4 weeks and 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12 months after study entry. Participants will also meet with a psychiatric provider for a 60-minute psychiatric consultation with at least monthly 30 minute follow-up visits. In addition, participants in this arm will be encouraged to receive services in the community, such as weekly individual psychotherapy, family and group therapy. At baseline, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months, participants will meet with a research coordinator for 60-minute visits to complete outcome measures.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Brief Intervention and Contact (BIC)

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

BIC treatment with an assigned therapist for up to 12 months

Interventions

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Dynamic Deconstructive Psychotherapy (DDP)

DDP treatment with an assigned therapist for up to 12 months

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Brief Intervention and Contact (BIC)

BIC treatment with an assigned therapist for up to 12 months

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* CSSRS suicide ideation of ≥ 2 and PHQ-9 item 9 of ≥ 1
* Ages 14 through 40 years old of both genders
* Fluency in English
* Willingness to enter outpatient treatment as evidenced by psychiatric consultation at the PHRP and attending a first session with their intake therapist
* Willingness to be video-recorded
* Completion of baseline outcomes measures

Exclusion Criteria

* Previous or current clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder or autism spectrum disorder as ascertained by self-report on the PHRP intake packet, or on their electronic medical records, or by psychiatric evaluation at the PHRP
* BMI \< 18 for adults ≥ 18 years old, and BMI \< 17 for adolescents
* Concurrent use of weekly ECT, ketamine, or esketamine
* IQ \< 80 on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test
* Current or previous treatment with Dynamic Deconstructive Psychotherapy
Minimum Eligible Age

14 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

40 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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State University of New York - Upstate Medical University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Robert Gregory, M.D.

Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Robert J Gregory, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

State University of New York - Upstate Medical University

Locations

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SUNY Upstate Medical University, Psychiatry High Risk Program (PHRP)

Syracuse, New York, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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United States

Central Contacts

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Jessica P Helfrich, BA

Role: CONTACT

315-464-3951

Robert J Gregory, MD

Role: CONTACT

315-464-3169

References

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Curtin SC, Garnett MF, Ahmad FB. Provisional numbers and rates of suicide by month and demographic characteristics: United States, 2021. NVSS-Vital Statistics-Rapid Release. Report No. 24, 2022.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

DeCou CR, Comtois KA, Landes SJ. Dialectical Behavior Therapy Is Effective for the Treatment of Suicidal Behavior: A Meta-Analysis. Behav Ther. 2019 Jan;50(1):60-72. doi: 10.1016/j.beth.2018.03.009. Epub 2018 Mar 22.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Durkheim, E. Suicide: A study in sociology. Routledge, 2005.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Goldman GA, Gregory RJ. Preliminary relationships between adherence and outcome in dynamic deconstructive psychotherapy. Psychotherapy (Chic). 2009 Dec;46(4):480-485. doi: 10.1037/a0017947.

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PMID: 22121844 (View on PubMed)

Gregory RJ, Chlebowski S, Kang D, Remen AL, Soderberg MG, Stepkovitch J, Virk S. A controlled trial of psychodynamic psychotherapy for co-occurring borderline personality disorder and alcohol use disorder. Psychotherapy (Chic). 2008 Mar;45(1):28-41. doi: 10.1037/0033-3204.45.1.28.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Gregory RJ, Sachdeva S. Naturalistic Outcomes of Evidence-Based Therapies for Borderline Personality Disorder at a Medical University Clinic. Am J Psychother. 2016;70(2):167-84. doi: 10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.2016.70.2.167.

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Stanley B, Brown GK, Brenner LA, Galfalvy HC, Currier GW, Knox KL, Chaudhury SR, Bush AL, Green KL. Comparison of the Safety Planning Intervention With Follow-up vs Usual Care of Suicidal Patients Treated in the Emergency Department. JAMA Psychiatry. 2018 Sep 1;75(9):894-900. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2018.1776.

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Reference Type BACKGROUND

Other Identifiers

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SUNY UMU IRB 2010159

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id