Couples Intervention to Improve Mental Health

Over the last decade, suicide rates have risen within the military and have remained high. Converging evidence suggests that suicide prevention efforts may be enhanced by explicitly including family members in treatment, however no couple-bases suicide-specific interventions exist. The study's objectives are to test the effect of the Couples Crisis Response Plan (CCRP), a targeted single-session couples intervention, on suicide ideation among military service members and Veterans, and to understand how the use of the CCRP impacts suicide risk during the period of time immediately post-discharge from a psychiatric inpatient unit. The CCRP will be compared to an active control condition (mental health education). The primary aim is to compare the effect of the CCRP to an active control condition on suicide ideation in the 6 months following treatment among military service members and Veterans who have been psychiatrically hospitalized for acute suicide risk and their partners. The CCRP is specifically adapted for use with partnered service members at elevated risk for suicide. A secondary aim is to determine how use of the CCRP skills impacts suicidal ideation over time and identify the role partners play in encouraging use of the plan and managing suicide risk.