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Motivational Interviewing to Address Suicidal Ideation for Veterans at High Risk for Suicide

Motivational Interviewing to Address Suicidal Ideation: A Randomized Controlled Trial With Suicidal Veterans

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05256940
Acronym
MI-SI
Enrollment
368
Registered
2022-02-25
Start date
2022-11-30
Completion date
2027-06-29
Last updated
2026-05-29

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Suicidal Ideation, Suicide, Attempted

Keywords

veterans, motivational interviewing

Brief summary

The purpose of this project is to conduct a randomized control trial with 470 Veterans to examine the impact of a revised version of Motivational Interviewing to Address Suicidal Ideation (MI-SI-R) on risk for suicide attempts and suicidal ideation when compared to high quality usual care.

Detailed description

Research suggests that treatments to reduce suicidal behavior may need to focus on both the motivation to live and the motivation to die to obtain optimal effects. The PI developed a revised version of Motivational Interviewing to Address Suicidal Ideation (MI-SI-R) to help Veterans resolve ambivalence about living by increasing the motivation to live, that consists of three sessions delivered in-person, virtually, or by telephone. Enhanced usual care (EUC) for high-risk Veterans includes safety plans administered or reviewed by research therapists, care coordination, and access to a 24-hour crisis hotline. In a preliminary randomized controlled trial (RCT) in psychiatrically hospitalized Veterans, MI-SI-R plus EUC was associated with 50% fewer suicide attempts and 41% lower likelihood of suicidal ideation compared to EUC alone. The investigators are proposing an RCT comparing MI-SI-R plus EUC (MI-SI-R+EUC) to EUC alone in a sample of 470 high-risk Veterans with recent suicidal crises from three VHA Medical Centers, with "high-risk" defined as a suicide attempt within a month or suicidal ideation \> 5 on the Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation. Half (n = 235) will be randomized to MI-SI-R+EUC (three sessions in-person, via Video Connect, or telephone) and the remaining participants (n = 235) will receive EUC alone. All participants will be asked to complete telephone follow-up assessments at 1, 3, 6, and 12-months after randomization. This will allow the investigators to determine the efficacy of MI-SI-R+EUC in reducing risk for suicide attempts (Aim 1) and reducing overall suicidal ideation (Aim 2) when compared to EUC alone.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALMotivational Interviewing to Address Suicidal Ideation- Revised (MI-SI-R)

Motivational Interviewing to Address Suicidal Ideation (MI-SI-R) was developed to help Veterans resolve ambivalence about living by increasing the motivation to live, that is delivered in three sessions in person, virtually, or by telephone.

OTHEREnhanced usual care (EUC)

Enhanced usual care (EUC) includes safety plans administered or reviewed by research therapists, care coordination, and access to a 24-hour crisis hotline.

Sponsors

VA Office of Research and Development
Lead SponsorFED
Syracuse VA Medical Center
CollaboratorFED
Portland VA Medical Center
CollaboratorFED
Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center
CollaboratorFED

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Masking description

Outcome assessors will be blinded to treatment received by participants.

Intervention model description

Motivational Interviewing to Address Suicidal Ideation (MI-SI-R) was developed to help participants at high-risk for suicide resolve their ambivalence about living by increasing their motivation to live, and is delivered in three sessions in-person, virtually, or by telephone.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Veteran status, * admitted to an inpatient unit, referred by a suicide prevention coordinator, or identified as high-risk via data extraction, * age 18 and over, * English speaking and reading, and * ability to understand the study and provide informed consent, * high-risk status confirmed by suicide attempt within a month on the Columbia- Suicide Severity Rating Scale or a score \> 5 on the Scale for Suicidal Ideation

Exclusion criteria

* current psychosis, * active mania, * dementia, * impaired decision making capacity, and * institutionalization due to hospitalization in a non-VA facility, jail, or prison.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale12-monthsThe first primary outcome is the presence (vs. absence) of non-fatal suicide attempts as reported on the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale.
Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation12-monthThe second primary outcome is suicidal ideation as reported on the Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation, which has a range from 0-38, with higher scores indicating more severe suicidal ideation.

Countries

United States

Contacts

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORPeter C. Britton, PhD MS

VA Finger Lakes Healthcare System, Canandaigua, NY

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: May 30, 2026