Psychoeducational Course for Suicide Prevention

The plan is to include patients with a history of increased risk of suicide. In the aftermath of an episode of imminent suicide risk, patients will receive a psychoeducational course that entails information on different aspects of suicide-related topics, identifying triggers and detecting early warning signals for increased suicide risk. The course culminates in working on completing a individual safety plan to prevent an future increase in suicide risk. The course will incorporate both patients and their next of kin. The psychoeducational course will be compared to a control group where the patients receive one individual session with focus on a safety plan to evaluate the intervention. Both groups will receive treatment as usual (TAU) during both the acute phase and follow-up. The study will be conducted as a randomized controlled trial.

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients with a suicide attempt, suicidal behavior, or risk of suicidal behavior and a clinician evaluating that the patient has an intention to die * Patients with a suicide attempt or suicidal behavior defined as "a self-inflicted, potentially injurious behavior with a non-fatal outcome for which there is evidence of intention of death and/or considered to have had or been close to a suicidal crisis syndrome. Exclusion Criteria: * Not being sufficiently fluent in Norwegian to provide informed consent, valid responses on psychometric testing or to benefit from a psychoeducative course. * A known diagnosis of ICD-10 F 60.3 (borderline personality disorder) with similar symptoms at previous admittances. * Ongoing psychosis. * A substance abuse condition to such a degree that they are unable to comply with the protocol and are considered to be at risk when attending psychoeducational courses. * Organic brain disorders or mental disabilities in such a degree that they are unable to comply with the protocol. * Not being able to give an informed consent