Suicide and Crisis Intervention

Youth suicide is a disturbing, longstanding, and challenging public health problem in the U.S. Suicide is a leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults, and other forms of suicidal behavior (e.g., suicidal thoughts; making suicide plans; attempting suicide) cause significant distress among youth, their family, and their friends. Cognitive-behavioral interventions have demonstrated the most efficacy in reducing suicidal behavior, with numerous clinical trials having been conducted over several decades. The two most prominent cognitive-behavioral interventions for addressing suicidal behavior are Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Given the complexity and difficulty of implementing DBT, as well as the finding that briefer forms of CBT could be as effective as more extensive forms of it, there has been a recent interest in applications of Brief Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (BCBT) for suicide prevention and intervention. The purpose of this chapter is to review the use of BCBT with adolescent and young adult populations exhibiting suicidal behavior. Research on BCBT with suicidal adolescents and young adults is discussed, as is theoretical foundations of BCBT for conceptualizing suicidal behavior. An overview of BCBT and its use with suicidal youth is provided along with an illustrative case study.