Brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Military Populations

Overview

The primary purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of brief cognitive-behavioral therapy (B-CBT) for the treatment of suicidality, including suicidal ideation and attempts (regardless of Axis I or II diagnosis) among active duty military personnel. The standard null hypothesis will involve tests conducted comparing improvement following B-CBT (treatment duration of 12 weeks) to treatment as usual (TAU). The primary outcome comparisons will include both direct markers of suicidality (i.e. suicide, suicide attempts) and indirect markers including associated symptomatology (i.e. suicidal ideation, intent, anxiety, depression, hopelessness, substance abuse, and sleep disturbance), along with remission of psychiatric diagnoses. Secondary purposes include the prospective investigation of suicide risk factors and warning signs to explore these variables' ability to predict subsequent suicidal behavior following an index attempt.

The research gap in the treatment of suicidality is considerable, particularly with military populations, including those returning from deployment in support of OIF/OEF. Only one randomized clinical trial targeting suicidality has been conducted with a military sample (Rudd et al., 1996). Although time-limited treatment of suicidality is the primary target of the project, additional elements will be explored including prospective investigation of suicide risk factors and warning signs, as well as development of a centralized software assessment/management tracking system for high-risk suicidal individuals. Reference to "active duty" refers to U.S. military service members that have been activated and deployed as a part of OIF/OEF in accordance with federal orders under Title 10 or 32, Unites States Code. This includes individuals on active duty from the National Guard and Reserve forces. Specific Aim 1: To evaluate the effectiveness of brief cognitive-behavioral therapy (B-CBT) for the treatment of suicidality, including suicidal ideation and attempts (regardless of Axis I or II diagnosis) among active duty military personnel. It is anticipated that a large percentage of those identified for treatment will include military personnel recently returned from OIF/OEF. The standard null hypothesis will involve tests conducted comparing improvement following B-CBT (treatment duration of 12 weeks) to treatment as usual (TAU). The primary outcome comparisons will include both direct markers of suicidality (i.e. suicide, suicide attempts) and indirect markers including associated symptomatology (i.e. suicidal ideation, intent, anxiety, depression, hopelessness, substance abuse, agitation, and sleep disturbance), along with remission of psychiatric diagnoses. Specific Aim 2: To engage in prospective investigation of suicide risk factors (i.e. psychiatric diagnosis and history, suicidal ideation, intent, anxiety, depression, hopelessness) and warning signs (i.e. agitation, sleep disturbance), exploring their ability to predict subsequent suicidal behavior following onset of suicidality. Specific Aim 3: To explore the effectiveness of B-CBT (versus TAU) for increasing appropriate utilization of and compliance with medical, mental health, and substance abuse treatment, as well as improving psychological and social functioning. Specific Aim 4: To develop a risk management software program for the initial risk assessment, ongoing monitoring and clinical management of high-risk suicidal patients. The software program would provide a mechanism for organizing and tracking clinical risk factors and warning signs for suicide, along with appropriate management and clinical intervention strategies during the treatment process.