Collaborative assessment and management of suicidality for teens: A promising frontline intervention for addressing adolescent suicidality

This pilot open trial examined the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes of the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality for teens (CAMS-4Teens) who presented to outpatient care with suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Participants were 22 adolescents (age 13–17; 59% identified as female) with clinical elevations (≥7) on the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire–Revised (SBQ-R). Primary outcomes were feasibility and acceptability. We also explored outcomes of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, as well as mixed effects modeling for weekly assessments of the Suicide Status Form (SSF) Core Assessment constructs. Our main implementation outcomes suggest that the intervention is acceptable, appropriate, and feasible to deliver. Clinicians were adherent to the model with high ratings of adherence. In addition, preliminary evaluation of suicidal thoughts and behaviors found a large effect size for reduction in suicidal thoughts. Benchmarking to other adolescent suicide specific interventions and the Collaborative Assessment of Management of Suicidality with adult populations provides promise that suicidal adolescent responses may be on par with established interventions. Findings from the study are preliminary in nature and intended to inform whether CAMS with adolescents is a promising approach to engage and treat patient-defined “drivers” of suicide. The results suggest that a future investigation with power to detect significant change over another active intervention is warranted.