Smart phone-based cognitive behavioral therapy plus one-on-one six-step crisis intervention for mood disorder individuals with high suicide risk: a preliminary report of within-group changes

Individuals with mood disorder may be at high risk of suicide, implementing structured interventions may help support clinical care and management for these individuals. This study aimed to explore pre-post changes in suicide risk, cognitive distortion, and interpersonal relationship distress following smart phone-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) plus one-on-one six-step crisis intervention for individuals with mood disorder at high suicide risk. A before-after study was conducted from December 2021 to February 2022. We recruited 39 participants from psychiatry inpatient department of a comprehensive hospital in Wuhan. The participants completed a six-week smart phone-based CBT plus one-on-one six-step crisis intervention. Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R), Cognitive Bias Questionnaire (CBQ) and Interpersonal Relationship Assessment Scale (IRAS) were used to assess suicide risk, cognitive distortion and interpersonal relationship distress at pre- and post-intervention, respectively. A total of 23 participants completed all the six-week intervention. The average age of participants was (18.74 ± 2.03) years, with 13 females. Paired t-test results indicated that posttest scores for the SBQ-R ( t = 6.171, p <0.001), CBQ ( t = 2.697, p = 0.013) and IRAS ( t = 3.037, p = 0.006) were significantly lower than pretest scores. The smart phone-based CBT plus one-on-one six-step crisis intervention was associated with pre-post reductions in suicide risk, cognitive distortion, and interpersonal relationship distress in mood disorder individuals with high suicide risk. The findings provided preliminary evidence of within-group changes following the intervention and may offer insights for clinical practice and the design of future controlled studies in suicide intervention. ChiCTR2100043749.