Circles of Hope: Group Intervention for Adolescents With Suicidal Symptoms

Overview

This pilot study examines the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes of a short-term group psychotherapy intervention for adolescents experiencing suicidal symptoms without immediate suicidal intent. The intervention is implemented within a public child and adolescent mental health clinic and includes emotional processing, interpersonal work, psychoeducation, and parental involvement. The study will evaluate participant engagement, attendance, and preliminary changes in suicidal ideation and related emotional and interpersonal functioning. The goal of the study is to contribute to the development of safe, feasible, and accessible group-based interventions for adolescents at suicide risk within public mental health services.

Adolescent suicidality represents a major clinical and public mental health challenge, with increasing rates of suicidal ideation and related emotional distress among youth. Although evidence-based psychotherapies for suicidal adolescents exist, many are resource-intensive and primarily delivered in individual formats, limiting their accessibility within public mental health systems. This study examines a short-term group psychotherapy intervention ("Circles of Hope") developed for adolescents experiencing suicidal symptoms without immediate suicidal intent. The intervention is designed for implementation within routine public mental health services and aims to provide an accessible and structured therapeutic response for adolescents at suicide risk. The intervention includes emotional processing, interpersonal group work, psychoeducational components, ongoing risk monitoring, and parental involvement. Groups are conducted in a small-group format within a child and adolescent mental health clinic. The primary aim of this pilot study is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention, including recruitment, retention, attendance, and participant engagement. Secondary aims include preliminary examination of changes in suicidal ideation and related emotional and interpersonal outcomes. Participants will complete assessments at baseline, post-intervention, and follow-up. Findings from this study are intended to contribute to the development of safe, feasible, and accessible group-based interventions for adolescents with suicidal symptoms in public mental health settings.