van Ballegooijen, et al. (2024).
JAMA psychiatry, e242854.
Advance online publication.
Abstract
Importance: Suicidal ideation and suicide attempts are debilitating mental health problems that are often treated with indirect psychotherapy (ie, psychotherapy that focuses on other mental health problems, such as depression or personality disorders). The effects of direct and indirect psychotherapy on suicidal ideation have not yet been examined in a meta-analysis, and several trials have been published since a previous meta-analysis examined the effect size of direct and indirect psychotherapy on suicide attempts.
Objective: To investigate the effect sizes of direct and indirect psychotherapy on suicidal ideation and the incidence of suicide attempts.
Data sources: PubMed, Embase, PsycInfo, Web of Science, Scopus, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched for articles published up until April 1, 2023.
Results: Of 15 006 studies identified, 147 comprising 193 comparisons and 11 001 participants were included. Direct and indirect psychotherapy conditions were associated with reduced suicidal ideation (direct: g, -0.39; 95% CI, -0.53 to -0.24; I2, 83.2; indirect: g, -0.30; 95% CI, -0.42 to -0.18; I2, 52.2). Direct and indirect psychotherapy conditions were also associated with reduced suicide attempts (direct: RR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.62 to 0.84; I2, 40.5; indirect: RR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.48 to 0.95; I2, 0). Sensitivity analyses largely confirmed these results.
Conclusions and relevance: Direct and indirect interventions had similar effect sizes for reducing suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Suicide prevention strategies could make greater use of indirect treatments to provide effective interventions for people who would not likely seek treatment for suicidal ideation or self-harm.
My interpretation:
A recent systematic review and meta-analysis found that both direct (focused on suicidal thoughts and behaviors) and indirect (treating related issues like depression) psychotherapies can significantly reduce suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, suggesting that even treatments not explicitly targeting suicide can still be effective in lowering suicide risk; however, the effect sizes between direct and indirect interventions were similar, indicating that directly addressing suicidal thoughts may not necessarily provide a greater benefit compared to treating associated symptoms. This findings is inconsistent with other research and practice recommendations.
