Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Educational Studies

Suicide is a growing concern in the United States and around the world. Approximately 50,000 people die by suicide each year and more than 15 million additional people struggle with thoughts of suicide in the U.S. As a result, there are very few people who have not been affected by suicide. Much of the work that has been performed around suicide places a focus on awareness and interventions, which is necessary for understanding the issue and critical in directing people to help. In recent years, the increases in suicide have been met with increases in social awareness. There is one obvious gap, which has been a lack of implemented solutions. Unfortunately, little has been done to provide actual treatment models that have proven effective. This study explored the work conducted at an outpatient treatment center utilizing a novel treatment model specifically developed for individuals actively struggling with thoughts of suicide. This model merges two evidence-based models with over 50 randomized controlled trials between them to bring both access and treatment to the public. The sample included 58 participants with a mean age of 20 years and which was 57% female and 43% male. Importantly, 31% of those in the study had no prior history of mental health diagnosis. The study found that the treatment was effective in reducing suicidality scores in the sample from pre-treatment scores to post-treatment scores, with a very large effect size [t(57) = 8.1, p < .001, d = 1.02]. There were also a significant decreases in scores on hopelessness [t(56) = 9.875, p < .001, d = 1.630], psychological pain [ t(57) = 9.768, p<.001, d = 1.294], stress [t(57) = 9.560, p < .001, d = 1.266], and self-hate [t(57) = 8.118, p < .001, d = 1.075], all with large effect sizes. The treatment and dosage data shows that the participants were able to appropriately address the issue of suicide and achieve resolution in an average of 7.52 sessions over an average of 5.6 weeks, with a 93% succe (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Darcy Haag Granello (Advisor); Paul Granello (Committee Member); David Jobes (Committee Member); Kaprea Johnson (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Psychology; Behavioral Sciences; Behaviorial Sciences; Clinical Psychology; Cognitive Psychology; Cognitive Therapy; Counseling Education; Counseling Psychology; Developmental Psychology; Ethics; Experimental Psychology; Health Care; Mental Health; Psychology; Psychotherapy; Public Health; Social Work; Sociology