Individuals recently discharged from inpatient psychiatry are at a very high, short-term risk for suicide, with the risk of suicide up to 200 times higher for individuals recently discharged from hospitals versus the general population. The Aftercare Focus Study led by Kate Comtois is implementing and evaluating a novel clinical intervention for suicidal thoughts and behavior called the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality, or CAMS. Unlike DBT and CBT, CAMS neither requires lengthy training and supervision, nor a substantial change to the clinician’s existing treatment approach.

Pilot work by Comtois showed that CAMS was more effective than treatment as usual at reducing suicidal ideation and psychological distress as well as increasing hope and treatment satisfaction for patients discharged from inpatient psychiatry. The goal of the current study is to rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of CAMS for patients receiving treatment or evaluation in the emergency department or an inpatient unit as a direct result of a suicide attempt, or suicide attempt within the past month. The study is recruiting 200 adults from any of the four inpatient psychiatry units, two emergency departments, and two consultation-liaison psychiatry services at Harborview or UWMC. This easy-to-train, outpatient model of care has the promise to meaningfully engage suicidal patients, to systematically eliminate suicidal ideation and behaviors, and to reduce return to the ER and hospital units.