Suicide risk reduced after talk therapy, study suggests

Talk therapy sessions can help reduce the risk of suicide among high-risk groups, suggests a US study.

Researchers from John Hopkins University tracked more than 5,000 Danish people who had attempted suicide and later received psychosocial counselling.

They found suicides went down by 26% after five years, compared to people who had no therapy sessions.

The findings are published in Lancet Psychiatry.

The participants in the study volunteered to have six to 10 talking therapy sessions at suicide prevention clinics in Denmark.

Their outcomes were compared with around 17,000 people who had attempted suicide but had not gone for treatment afterwards.

Participants were then followed up for up to 20 years.

The aim of this therapy is to give people time and space to talk about their troubles and explore difficult feelings with a trained professional.

During the first year, those who received therapy were 27% less likely to attempt suicide again. They were also 38% less likely to die of any cause.

After five years, this same group saw 26% fewer suicides. Ten years later, the positive effects of the therapy were still evident.

Dr Elizabeth Stuart, study co-author and associate professor in the Bloomberg School's department of mental health, said the long-term follow-up was ideal for gathering information on which suicide prevention treatments worked.

"Our findings provide a solid basis for recommending that this type of therapy be considered for populations at risk for suicide," she said.

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