None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
This pilot study will randomise young people admitted to Banksia ward following a suicide attempt or self-harm to either standard care or structured care. Comparisons will be made in terms of attendance and engagement with community mental health services, parental protective factors in supporting the young person in crisis, self-rated suicide resilience, satisfaction with inpatient services, and readmission rates within 1 and 3 months. Measures will be taken at baseline, discharge from Banksia ward, and 1 and 3 months follow-up. Between-group differences will be analysed using chi square, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t tests.
Interventions
Young people allocated to structured care will receive all the usual benefits associated with standard adolescent inpatient care during their admission, with the addition of structured sessions for both the young person and their parent/guardian, with the content of these sessions clearly defined.
The young person will attend two sessions during their inpatient admission following the principles of Therapeutic Assessment (as outlined by Ougrin, Ng, and Low (2008)). Therapeutic Assessment (TA) i
Young people allocated to structured care will receive all the usual benefits associated with standard adolescent inpatient care during their admission, with the addition of structured sessions for both the young person and their parent/guardian, with the content of these sessions clearly defined. The young person will attend two sessions during their inpatient admission following the principles of Therapeutic Assessment (as outlined by Ougrin, Ng, and Low (2008)). Therapeutic Assessment (TA) is a structured safety-planning approach that utilises the principles of cognitive behaviour therapy (Beck, 2011) and cognitive analytic therapy (Ryle & Kerr, 2003). These psychological approaches aim to work alongside the individual and support them to accept the need for change and implement required adjustments. These sessions will be individually delivered as a face-to-face intervention, with each session lasting approximately 60 minutes. There will be a minimum of two days between session one and session two. A registered mental health nurse has been recruited specifically for the trial and will be trained in TA by the Principal Investigator. Furthermore, the parent/guardian of young people allocated to structured care will also attend two sessions during the adolescent’s inpatient admission. These sessions will draw on the principles of task one of Attachment Based Family Therapy (Diamond, Diamond, & Levy, 2014; Diamond & Stern, 2003). This task aims to assess family functioning and provide attachment informed psycho-education and crisis management strategies. These two sessions will be provided by the PI, a Consultant Psychiatrist. Due to the pilot nature of this trial, strategies to monitor adherence to the interventions will not be included.
Sponsors
The Royal Children's Hospital Foundation
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
12 Years to 18 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
1. Young person aged 12 – 18 years old with the ability to provide consent 2. Admitted to Banksia Ward at The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne following either/both: a. a suicide attempt (with intent to die and based on lethality) b. engagement in self harm (without suicidal intent) within 30 days prior to the admission 3. Parent/guardian consent to participate in parenting sessions 4. Proficiency in written and spoken English that is sufficient for participation and questionnaire completion and does not require an interpreter 5. Stable living situation/no immediate plans for out-of-home placement 6. Young person lives within the Western/Metropolitan region
Exclusion criteria
1. No suicidal attempts or self harm within 30 days prior to admission 2. Presenting for admission with psychosis or substance dependence 3. A diagnosis of a learning disability and/or autism spectrum condition 4. A disorder that is likely to impair capacity to give informed consent 5. No parent/guardian to participate 6. Direct transfer to medical unit 7. Young person stating that they do not intend to engage in community mental health support following discharge 8. Young person belongs to the Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders population
Outcome results
None listed