• Tracy Stecker, Nicholas P Allan, Charles Hoge, Lisham Ashrafioun, and Kenneth R Conner.
• College of Nursing, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA. stecker@musc.edu.
• J Gen Intern Med. 2023 Sep 1; 38 (12): 263926462639-2646.

ObjectiveMilitary members and Veterans at-risk for suicide are often unlikely to seek behavioral health treatment. The primary aim of this study was to test the efficacy of brief CBT for Treatment Seeking (CBT-TS) to improve behavioral health treatment utilization among U.S. military service members and Veterans at-risk for suicide.MethodsA total of 841 participants who served in the U.S. military since 9/11 and who reported suicidality but were not in behavioral health treatment were recruited to participate in this trial. Participants were randomly assigned to either brief CBT-TS delivered by phone or an assessment-only control condition. Follow-up assessments were conducted at baseline and months 1, 3, 6, and 12 to track treatment utilization and symptoms.ResultsCBT-TS resulted in significantly greater behavioral health treatment initiation within 1 month compared to the control condition (B = .93, p < .001); and the higher treatment initiation persisted for 12 months post intervention.ConclusionsThis study employed a low-cost, easily implementable one-session intervention administered by phone. The study provides evidence that CBT-TS is efficacious in promoting behavioral health treatment initiation in an adult population at risk for suicidal behavior and showed enduring benefits for 6-12 months. CBT-TS provides a unique strategy for treatment engagement for at-risk adults unlikely to seek treatment.Trial RegistrationClinicaltrials.gov NCT05077514.© 2023. This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply.

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