charlottemuhlman

Self-help Online against Suicidal Thoughts

In the project Self-Help Online against Suicidal Thoughts (SOS), it was investigated whether internet-based self-help therapy could help people with suicidal thoughts. The study was led by psychologist Charlotte Mühlmann from DRISP in collaboration with colleagues and conducted as a randomized study.

Together with the Danish telephone helpline for suicide prevention (“Livslinien”), 402 adults with suicide thoughts were recruited during 2016-2018. The average age of the participants was 34 years. One third of the participants had previously had a suicide attempt, while 55% were in therapeutic or psychiatric treatment at the time they joined the study.

Half of the 402 participants were randomized to test the online program, while the other half served as a control group, i.e. did not receive the program. The findings showed that after 6 weeks, there was a significant difference; those who had received the self-help program had experienced a reduction of suicidal thoughts, feelings of hopelessness and worries when compared to the control group.

Among the participants who had access to the program, 63% experienced a clinically significant decrease in their suicidal thoughts; corresponding to 6 points on the Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation, which was the questionnaire used for measuring suicide risk. The significant difference was also present after seven months. Among those surveyed, 78% of the participants rated the program as useful.

You can find the study here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2774853

The project was supported by the Danish TrygFonden.

DRISP: Charlotte Mühlmann, Trine Madsen, Annette Erlangsen, Merete Nordentoft

Partner:

Livslinien

Managing suicidality in research on internet- and mobile-based interventions: current practice and recommendations

Many studies on internet-based therapy exclude participants with suicide thoughts. The aim of two studies is to provide an overview of the current practice in the management of suicidality in RCTs of internet interventions for depression and suicide thoughts. Researchers in the field have been found through a literature review and been asked to answer a questionnaire and be interviewed regarding their practices. Based on this overview, best-practice recommendations regarding how to manage suicidality in research on internet interventions for depression was published in 2020.

For more information read https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032719323353.

DRISP: Charlotte Mühlmann

Partners:

Institute of Psychology, University of Freiburg
Orygen, the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health

Suicide rates in Nordic prisons 1999-2016

International research has shown an increased suicide rate among people in prison. However, studies have yet to address age structural differences. In this longitudinal the suicide rates among male prisoners is compared to the general population in three Nordic countries, Denmark, Iceland, and Norway, while adjusting for age differences.

Findings from the study shows that men in prison have a 7-fold higher suicide rate compared to the background population in Denmark, Iceland, and Norway and when accounting for age differences. For females, a rate 18-fold higher suicide rate was found among those in prison when compared to the general population. Over the 17-year study period, the suicide rate of people in prison decreased from 129 per 100,000 in 1999 to 70 per 100,000 in 2016. This decline was steeper that the decline observed for the suicide rate in the general population in the Nordic countries.

Link to study

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13811118.2020.1746943

DRISP: Britt Morthorst, Charlotte Mühlmann, Trine Madsen, Merete Nordentoft
og Annette Erlangsen

Partners

Lars Mehlum, Professor, National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, Institute of Clinical Medicine Oslo, Norway
Aiguröur Pàlsson, MD, Unit of Forensic Psychiatry, Iceland
Högni Óskarsson, md, Humus inc., Iceland Yngve Hammerlin, MD, Correctional Service of Norway Staff Academy, Norway

Call volume to a national suicide hotline, the Lifeline

It is estimated that between 50-60% of the people who call helplines for suicide prevention are in an acute crisis, and up to 56% have had a previous suicide attempt. It is therefore important to answer these calls.

The counselors of the Danish telephone helpline for suicide prevention, “Livslinien,” answer more than 14,000 calls per year. However, many calls still go unanswered. DRISP is collaborating with the Danish telephone helpline in an ongoing research project to investigate how many calls are answered and at what times of day the peaks.

In a first research project, the number of calls and characteristics of the people who called Livslinien were investigated. Data on all answered calls in the period 2018-2019 were analyzed. The data material consisted of records that counselors make after each counseling session and included socio-demographic information as well as an assessment of the person’s suicide risk.

Ove a 2-year period, a total of 42,393 calls were answered. In more than half of all calls, the person seeking counseling was evaluated to be at risk of suicide – and in 37% of all calls, the person was considered to be at high risk of suicide.

The study also showed that women, younger people, those with a history of previous suicide attempts, and those who reported problems related to self-harm, mental illness, sexual abuse, substance abuse, and physical health problems were more likely to be considered at risk of suicide, as evaluated by counselors.

The results of the study highlight the importance of helplines for suicide prevention and the need to ensure that these are adequately staffed in order to meet the demand.

You can read the study here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13811118.2022.2084005

The project has received funding from the Suicide Prevention Partnership, the Danish Health Authority.

DRISP: Annette Erlangsen

Partners:

Livslinien