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Treatment Approaches with Suicidal Adolescents

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Suicide Risk Assessment and Prevention

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Abstract

Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15- to19-year-olds worldwide. Over one-third of adolescents who experience suicidal ideation (SI) eventually attempt suicide, typically within 1 to 2 years of the onset SI, and a prior suicide attempt is one of the best predictive risk factors for eventual death by suicide as well as future suicide attempts among adolescents. Thus, effective treatment of suicidal adolescents, especially those who have attempted suicide, is an important component of addressing the public health problem of youth suicide. In this chapter, we summarize recent reviews and meta-analyses of the literature on the treatment of suicidal adolescents. We then discuss the major treatment approaches, primarily dialectical behavior therapy, different variations of cognitive-behavioral therapy, and different family therapy models. A few other approaches with less support are also discussed including developmental group therapy, multisystemic therapy, and mentalization therapy. Although safety planning does not have stand-alone empirical data to date with adolescents, we also describe a typical safety planning session. We conclude with a discussion of ketamine as a psychopharmacologic treatment just beginning to be studied with adolescents as well as the use of digital technology to enhance the treatment of suicidal adolescents.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Anthony Spirito & Jennifer Wolff

  2. George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA

    Margaret Webb & Christianne Esposito-Smythers

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  1. Anthony Spirito
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  2. Margaret Webb
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  3. Jennifer Wolff
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  4. Christianne Esposito-Smythers
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Correspondence to Anthony Spirito .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Maurizio Pompili

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Spirito, A., Webb, M., Wolff, J., Esposito-Smythers, C. (2022). Treatment Approaches with Suicidal Adolescents. In: Pompili, M. (eds) Suicide Risk Assessment and Prevention. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42003-1_21

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