N/A
N=207
Group ("Project Life Force") vs. Individual Suicide Safety Planning RCT
Suicide
Bottom Line
View on ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03653637 ↗Enrolled (actual)
207
Serious AEs
29.0%
Results posted
Nov 2025
Primary outcome: Primary: Columbia Suicide Rating Scale (C-SSRS) — 22; 30 participants with an event — p=0.263
Study Design & Population
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- N/A
- Interventions
- Project Life Force (Behavioral); Treatment as Usual (Behavioral)
- Age
- Adult, Older Adult · 18+ yrs
- Sex
- All
- Sponsor
- VA Office of Research and Development
- Primary completion
- Dec 2023
Outcome Measures
| Outcome | Result | p-value |
|---|---|---|
| PRIMARY Columbia Suicide Rating Scale (C-SSRS) |
22; 30 | 0.263 |
| PRIMARY Suicidal Behavior by Chart Abstraction |
— | — |
| PRIMARY Death by Suicide by National Death Index Survey Findings |
— | — |
| SECONDARY Beck Depression Inventory-II Change |
32.03; 30.90; 23.54; 24.32; 23.82; 25.19 | .72 |
| SECONDARY Beck Hopelessness Scale Change |
10.11; 9.40; 7.74; 8.21; 8.18; 7.67 | .23 |
| SECONDARY Suicide-related Coping Scale Change |
48.30; 49.17; 53.68; 50.09; 53.15; 49.22 | .09 |
| SECONDARY Outpatient Mental Health Treatment Utilization |
17.96; 17.53; 45.28; 37.82 | .15 |
| SECONDARY Drug Abuse Screening Test 10 (DAST-10) |
4.0; 3.57 | .52 |
| SECONDARY Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C) |
1.95; 1.62 | .83 |
Summary
The management of suicide risk is a pressing national public health issue especially among Veterans. This grant consists of two arms: the novel treatment and treatment-as-usual. "Project Life Force" (PLF), a novel suicide safety planning group intervention has been developed to provide a mechanism to develop and enhance the Suicide Safety Plan (SSP) over time. PLF, a 10-session, group intervention, combines cognitive behavior therapy (CBT)/dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skill based, and psychoeducational approaches, to maximize suicide safety planning development and implementation. Veterans revise their plans over several weeks while learning coping, emotion regulation, and interpersonal skills to incorporate into their safety plans.
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- Discharge from inpatient unit for suicidal ideation or attempts, or placement on the high-risk suicide list maintained by suicide prevention coordinators
- Completion of a safety plan during the past 6 months prior to entry
- Concurrence from the patient's mental health provider for the Veteran to participate in the study and the provider is willing to work with the research team.
Exclusion Criteria
- Unable to provide informed consent or complete study requirements
- Unable to speak English
- Cognitive difficulties that impair consent capacity
- Unable or unwilling to provide at least one verifiable contact for emergency or tracking purposes
- Unable to attend outpatient group treatment program or tolerate group therapy format
- Active alcohol or opiate dependence requiring medically supervised withdrawal
- Schizophrenia diagnosis
- Participation in another intervention RCT
Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03653637). Outcome figures and adverse-event rates are extracted automatically from the registry's posted results and are provided for clinician reference, not as a substitute for the primary publication.