A cognitive therapy intervention for suicide attempters: An overview of the treatment and case examples Original Research Article

Although suicidal behavior is a serious public health problem, few effective treatments exist to treat this population. This article describes a new cognitive therapy intervention that has been developed for treating recent suicide attempters. The intervention is based on general principles of cognitive therapy and targets the automatic thoughts and core beliefs that were activated just prior to the individualʹs suicide attempt. Specific cognitive and behavioral techniques are taught to the patient with the goal of decreasing suicidal thoughts and preventing future suicide attempts. The treatment is unique in targeting suicidal behavior as the primary problem, apart from psychiatric diagnosis. Three detailed case examples are provided that illustrate the use of the treatment with different types of patients.