View clinical trials related to Self-inflicted Injury.
Filter by:The purpose of this study is to explore the tolerability and effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as a potential treatment for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). NSSI is the deliberate attempt to harm oneself, most often through cutting or burning, without suicidal intent. NSSI is a maladaptive emotion-regulation strategy often triggered by negative emotions, especially those involving feelings of rejection. tDCS is a low-cost, portable, well-tolerated, non-invasive form of brain stimulation that delivers a low current to a specific area of the brain via electrodes. Several studies have demonstrated its effectiveness in treating an array of conditions, depending on electrode placement, including depression and chronic pain. tDCS may also facilitate adaptive emotion regulation; researchers have also successfully used tDCS to reduce negative emotions and aggressive responses to social rejection. The investigators therefore seek to explore tDCS as a potential treatment for NSSI. This pilot feasibility study seeks 1) to examine how at-home, self-administered tDCS is tolerated in a sample of individuals who engage in frequent NSSI; 2) to gather pilot data regarding changes in emotional and neural responses during a social task after a series of tDCS sessions in this clinical population of individuals who engage in NSSI; 3) to gather pilot data on the effects of tDCS on NSSI behaviors and urges. The investigators seek to recruit a sample of 22 individuals who engage in frequent NSSI to complete all study procedures. Individuals will be randomized to receive active- or sham-tDCS for two twenty-minute applications on each of six alternating days over approximately two weeks. Participants will be trained on tDCS self-administration, which will be supervised during each session over a videoconferencing platform by a researcher. Functional MRI (fMRI) may be performed at baseline and again after the completion of 12 sessions of tDCS. Subjects' NSSI and urges to engage in NSSI will be recorded for four weeks in real-time, using an iPod- based system that reminds subjects to stop at certain times during the day to record their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This will allow measurement of NSSI urges and behaviors for one week before, two weeks during, and one week after the tDCS intervention. The long-term goal of this study is to identify a novel form of treatment for NSSI and to better understand NSSI pathophysiology.
The study will determine whether community-based caring contact via a mobile app connection with or without volunteer support in addition to treatment as usual (psychiatric and psychosocial treatments) has an effect on suicidal ideation and treatment compliance among post-discharge self-harm young adults.
The investigators will conduct a prospective study and a randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving children and adolescents presenting with a primary mental health (MH) concern to the emergency departments (EDs) of Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota (CH). The investigators will characterize the primary MH concerns of 800 patients and assess their baseline access to and utilization of external resources. All enrolled patients will be followed 3-months after their initial visit to determine ED revisits and identify factors associated with connection to outpatient care. The RCT portion of the study will involve 200 patients discharged from the ED with a referral to an outpatient MH provider, and will test a novel text-message communication method by which parents/caregivers can be encouraged to complete follow-up care for their child. The experimental group will receive tailored text message reminders regarding follow-up appointments. Relevance: Pediatric ED visits for MH issues are increasing, but the current system of managing these patients is not optimal. More information is needed to accelerate change and to efficiently invest in improving services available to MH patients. Specifically, information is needed on which MH populations need to be targeted, and on simple, reproducible interventions which improve connection with community resources. The proposed study will collect vital information needed to develop programs that improve outcomes and reduce ED revisits in pediatric patients visiting the EDs at CH with primary MH concerns, and will set the stage for future work focused on improving core and outcomes for MH youth.