Attempted Suicide Intervention Treatment and Prevention (SAMIT Program)

Suicide has become a first-order public health concern after the negative impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the mental health of the general population. Few studies have analyzed the effects of early psychotherapeutic interventions on subjects who have attempted suicide, and even fewer focus on those hospitalized in nonpsychiatric units after a medically serious suicide attempt (MSSA). The most important risk factor for attempting suicide is having made a previous suicide attempt. Subjects are also at higher risk the first year after the attempt. The main aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of individual psychological treatment with patients hospitalized after a MSSA. The secondary objectives are: 1) acknowledge the evolution of the incidence of MSSA hospitalized during the pandemic; 2) analyze the impact of the psychological intervention using biological, psychosocial, and clinical variables. An experimental, controlled, and randomized trial will be conducted with patients older than 16 admitted to two general hospitals. The case group will receive an 8- session of individual psychotherapy while the control group received treatment as usual. Longitudinal assessment will be conducted at baseline, post-treatment, and 3, 6, and 12 months after. The main outcome variable will be re-attempting suicide during the follow-up.