BrighterSide: A randomised controlled trial of a self-guided app for suicidal ideation.

BrighterSide is a newly developed mobile phone application (app) for adults with suicidal ideation. The app was developed at the Black Dog Institute by mental health clinicians with input from lived experience representatives. The app is designed to help users develop and practice strategies to manage suicidal thoughts, as well as provide relaxation and distraction activities in times of distress. The app contains five modules which contain psychoeducation and associated activities. The modules are: ‘Understand your thoughts’, ‘Prevent a crisis’, ‘Navigate your emotions’, ‘Navigate your thoughts’, and ‘Plan for the future’. The content is based primarily on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), with elements of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and positive psychology. Each module, assuming a user reads all material and completes all activities, takes between 20 and 50 minutes to complete. BrighterSide includes a safety plan function where users are encouraged to list their personal warning signs, activities/techniques they find helpful to manage distress, and contact details for support people. The app also includes a ‘check-in’ feature that auto-appears when a user accesses the app for the first time each day. The check-in asks users how they are feeling today, whether they have thoughts of harming themselves, whether they feel able to keep themselves safe, and (if not) provides a link to their safety plan, contact numbers, and calming/distracting activities. Content is not time-gated and participants in the trial can use the app as often or as little as desired, although app usage data will be collected and will be examined at the conclusion of the trial in secondary analyses. Participants will be randomly allocated (1:1) to an intervention group, which will have immediate access to the app, and a waitlist control group which will receive access to the app at the conclusion of the trial (12 weeks after enrolment).