Outpatient psychotherapy practice with adolescents following psychiatric hospitalization for suicide ideation or a suicide attempt.
Outpatient treatment is standard care for adolescents discharged following a psychiatric hospitalization. There is little research, however, on the amount and types of psychotherapy these clients receive in the community. We examined therapy attendance and therapist report of outpatient therapy practice with adolescents discharged from psychiatric hospitalization following either a suicide attempt or severe suicidal ideation in the Northeastern USA. Therapists (n = 84) completed a packet of self-report questionnaires regarding treatment of these adolescents in the first six months after discharge from the hospital. Information on number of sessions attended, primary presenting problem, therapist orientation, therapy techniques, and therapeutic relationship was collected. The findings indicated that therapists met their clients in both private and community outpatient settings. The most common modality of treatment was individual therapy, but almost all types of therapeutic techniques were endorsed. Adolescents attended an average of 8.1 therapy sessions (SD = 4.7), with 18% terminating treatment against therapist advice within the first three months. Psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers used cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, and family system techniques about equally. Social workers used humanistic techniques more than their counterparts. The variability in number of therapy sessions attended suggests that many adolescents discharged after a psychiatric hospitalization will not receive adequate care. Short-term therapy protocols designed for community practice emphasizing cognitive techniques may be useful to test in future community-based research trials based on the high percentage of adolescents attending relatively few sessions.
Spirito
Anthony
A
Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, 121 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02912, USA. Anthony_Spirito@brown.edu
Simon
Valerie
V
Cancilliere
Mary Kathryn
MK
Stein
Rachel
R
Norcott
Candace
C
Loranger
Katherine
K
Prinstein
Mitchell J
MJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000359:Aftercare; D000368:Aged; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009511:New England; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology
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