OBJECTIVE
To provide the CBT-PS method for working with adolescents in the post-suicidal period.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Eleven adolescents who were admitted to a children’s department of a Krasnoyarsk outpatient clinic after an incomplete suicide were included in the study. All adolescents had depressive or mixed anxiety-depressive symptoms confirmed by clinical and psychological methods (F32 — 36.3%; F41.2 — 36.3%; F92.0 — 18.2%; F43 — 9.1%). CBT-PS was administered following the relief of the acute condition after drug treatment.
RESULTS
A cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT-SP) protocol for working with adolescents attempted suicide was presented. The main focus of emergency therapy at the initial, middle and final stages were pointed out. A working algorithm aimed at resolving an acute suicidal crisis including five tasks was described in detail, i.e. chain analysis, drawing up a safety plan, psychoeducational module, finding reasons for life and conceptualizing the case. The basic principles of planning a therapy strategy and the choice of modules of individual and family skills with regard to their relevance for each specific case were revealed. The steps of therapy aimed at preventing relapse and testing the effectiveness of the acquired skills to cope with a stressful situation in future were described in detail.
CONCLUSIONS
CBT-SP is a modern method of working with adolescents attempted suicide. The method based on a cognitive-behavioral model of suicidal behavior appears to have the proven clinical efficacy, with it being quite practical for psychiatrists, psychotherapists and medical psychologists dealing with CBT.