Here we are with the selection of articles published in the months of January and February 2019, about suicide, self harm and suicidal related topics from the major scientific journals.
Three articles are presented with a small comment by Raffaella Calati.
- The effectiveness of psychoanalytic/psychodynamic psychotherapy for reducing
suicide attempts and self-harm: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Briggs S, Netuveli G, Gould N, Gkaravella A, Gluckman NS, Kangogyere P, Farr R, Goldblatt MJ, Lindner R.
Br J Psychiatry. 2019 Feb 28:1-9. doi: 10.1192/bjp.2019.33. [Epub ahead of print]
This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis focused on the effectiveness of psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapies in reducing suicide attempts and self-harm. Twelve randomised controlled trials (17 articles) were included. Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic therapies were found to be effective in reducing the number of patients attempting suicide. Some evidence was found for reduced repetition of self-harm at 6-month but not 12-month follow-up. Significant treatment effects were reported also for psychosocial functioning and reduction in number of hospital admissions.
Item 1 – 3 of 3 - Day hospital versus intensive out-patient mentalisation-based treatment for
borderline personality disorder: multicentre randomised clinical trial.
Smits ML, Feenstra DJ, Eeren HV, Bales DL, Laurenssen EMP, Blankers M, Soons MBJ, Dekker JJM, Lucas Z, Verheul R, Luyten P.
Br J Psychiatry. 2019 Feb 22:1-6. doi: 10.1192/bjp.2019.9. [Epub ahead of print]
Two types of mentalisation-based treatment (MBT) for borderline personality disorder (BPD) were compared in a multicentre randomised controlled trial performed in the Netherlands: day hospital MBT (MBT-DH) and intensive out-patient MBT (MBT-IOP). MBT-DH was hypothesised to be superior to MBT-IOP because of its higher treatment intensity. Patients with BPD were randomly assigned to MBT-DH (n = 70) or MBT-IOP (n = 44). Significant improvements were found on all outcome measures, with moderate to very large effect sizes for both groups. MBT-DH was not superior to MBT-IOP on the primary outcome measure (symptom severity), but MBT-DH showed a clear tendency towards superiority on secondary outcomes (borderline symptomatology, personality functioning, interpersonal functioning, quality of life and self-harm).
Item 2 – 3 of 3 - Suicide Immediately After Discharge From Psychiatric Inpatient Care: A Cohort
Study of Nearly 2.9 Million Discharges.
Haglund A, Lysell H, Larsson H, Lichtenstein P, Runeson B,
J Clin Psychiatry. 2019 Feb 12;80(2). pii: 18m12172. doi: 10.4088/JCP.18m12172.
This study aimed to investigate how recent suicidal behavior affects the risk of suicide in patients with different psychiatric diagnoses immediately after discharge (within 30 days after discharge). The study focused on a study cohort in Sweden from 1973 through 2009. A total of 3,695 suicides occurred after 2,883,088 discharges. If recent suicidal behavior was registered, the risk of completed suicide increased prominently in all diagnostic categories, but particularly for schizophrenia and other nonorganic psychosis.
Patients suffering from depression had the highest overall risk of suicide postdischarge, and in particular in the case of male patients with depression or with reaction to crisis.
Item 3 – 3 of 3
EPA Section of Suicidology and Suicide Prevention 