Recruiting

Brief-Skills

Sponsor:

Unity Health Toronto

Code:

NCT06571916

Conditions

Suicide Prevention

Suicide

Suicide and Self-harm

Depression

major depressive disorder (MDD)

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Brief-SfSL

Study Details

Brief summary:

The goal of this project is to assess the efficacy of Brief-Skills for Safer Living (Brief-SfSL) in a randomized control trial. The investigators will be testing 150 participants Canada-wide, half of which will be randomized to receive Brief-SfSL (B-TAU) and the other half will be randomized to receive Brief-SfSL after a 3 month waitlist (WL-TAU). The main questions this study seeks to answer are:

  • Is B-TAU more efficacious than WL-TAU for reducing suicidal thoughts at 3 months?
  • Is B-TAU more efficacious than WL-TAU at 3 months for reducing depression severity, anxiety, and anhedonia?
  • Is B-TAU more efficacious than WL-TAU at 3 months for improving social connectedness, emotional regulation, functioning (work, life, social), executive control and social problem-solving?
  • Are adverse events equivalent between B-TAU and WL-TAU at 3 months?

Conditions

Suicide Prevention

Suicide

Suicide and Self-harm

Depression

major depressive disorder (MDD)

Study ID

NCT06571916

Start date

Nov 17, 2025

Status verified date

Nov, 2025

Completion date

Dec 31, 2028

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Oct 1, 2028

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Suicidal ideation in the past week
  • Access to a computer or phone with a camera
  • Access to internet
  • Access to an emergency contact and hospital within commuting distance
  • Not receiving other psychotherapy/counselling services concurrently
  • Willing to have the session recorded to determine therapy fidelity
  • Any psychiatric diagnosis is allowed
  • Follow-up visits with a psychiatrist and/or family doctor where a psychotherapeutic modality (e.g., Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, psychodynamic therapy, etc.) is not being used are allowable

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Inability to undergo psychotherapy in English
  • Presence of cognitive impairment that would limit consent and understanding of Brief Skills for Safer Living
  • Active psychosis
  • Unwilling or unable to provide informed consent
  • Previously enrolled in the Brief-SfSL pilot study
  • Unwilling or unable to communicate verbally

Study Design

Enrollment

150 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Brief-SfSL (B-TAU)

Participants will receive the Brief-SfSL treatment within 1 week of their screening.

no intervention: Wait List (WL-TAU)

Participants will be put on a wait list and receive the Brief-SfSL treatment 3 months after their screening.

Interventions

Brief-SfSL

Brief-SfSL is a single 90-minute intervention that that:

1. helps clients understand their suicide narrative, which explores the origin and meaning of their suicidal thoughts
2. builds specific skills to keep oneself safe from suicide even if suicidal thoughts are present
3. includes enhanced safety planning by identifying the barriers to enacting a safety plan and solutions to overcome them

Primary outcome measure

  • Change in suicidal ideation using Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation [ Time Frame: From baseline to 3 months post-intervention ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Anna Kiriakidis, RSSW, HBASc

416-360-4000anna.kiriakidis@unityhealth.to

Onjoli Krywiak, HBSc

onjoli.krywiak@unityhealth.to

Locations

Recruiting

Brandon, Manitoba, Canada

Recruiting

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Recruiting

Cape Breton (Sydney), Nova Scotia, Canada

Recruiting

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Recruiting

Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Recruiting

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Recruiting

Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

Recruiting

Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Recruiting

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Recruiting

Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada

Recruiting

Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada

Recruiting

Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada

Recruiting

Montague, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Recruiting

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Recruiting

Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada

Recruiting

Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

Recruiting

Red Deer, Alberta, Canada

Recruiting

Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

Recruiting

Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

Recruiting

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Recruiting

Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada

Recruiting

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Recruiting

Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada

Recruiting

Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Recruiting

Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada

Recruiting

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Recruiting

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Recruiting

Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada

Recruiting

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Recruiting

Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada

More Information

Sponsor

Unity Health Toronto

Last update posted

Jan 22, 2026

Last verified

Nov, 2025

Keywords

  • suicide
  • psychotherapy
  • depression
  • major depressive disorder (MDD)
  • anxiety
  • generalized anxiety disorder
  • PTSD
  • trauma
  • self-harm
  • Psychotherapy

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-10-09. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Unity Health Toronto on 2026-01-22. Recruitment status is synced daily from ClinicalTrials.gov and may not reflect the sponsor's current status. Confirm during your call.