Attempted Suicide : The Process of Change Through Therapy

Background : Suicide and suicidal attempts is a public health problem. Very few studies in the Indian context have highlighted the changes in thought patterns brought about by different modalities of treatment of suicidal subjects. Objective: The present study aims to find out the alterations in thought processes with treatment over time and in this context the efficacy of Pharmacotherapy and combined therapy in attempted suicide. Method : Sixty first-time suicide attempters in the age group 18 to 30 years were divided into 2 groups using simple random sampling-(a) the Treatment As Usual group (TAU), maintained on SSRI only and (b) the Combined Therapy group (CBT) receiving SSRI+CBT (8-10 weeks). All subjects were evaluated on Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Hopelessness Inventory, Adult Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire and Cognitive Style Test both before and after the intervention and on a follow up after 6 months. Results and Discussion : Significant change in Hopelessness, Suicidal Ideation and Depression were observed in both groups. After 6 months a significant difference persisted in pre-post scores on all the variables in CBT group. Conclusion: The study explores the changes through the therapeutic process and highlights the superiority of Combined therapy in changing negative thought patterns.