Purpose – Hispanic female (Latina) adolescents have high rates of suicidal behavior. Latinas face suicide risks common to all adolescents, but also face unique risks, including family and acculturation struggles. Life is Precious (LIP), a community-based organization operating in Brooklyn and the Bronx, has developed a comprehensive suicide prevention intervention for Latinas that has been well-received by adolescents, their parents, and the community. The purpose of this paper is to describe an academic-community partnership that has been created to evaluate the program and develop an evidence-based practice (EBP) that can be replicated in other settings. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative and qualitative research design has been developed to evaluate the current program and identify how it can be scaled into an EBP. Findings – To date, 55 participants have completed the baseline interview. All participants are Latinas age 12-18. In total, 84 percent were born in the USA and 89 percent report fluency in English. About one-third report having repeated a grade in school and over a quarter report a history of sexual abuse. Preliminary findings indicate the effectiveness of LIP. Since the program's inception in 2008, only three participants have been hospitalized for mental health reasons and none have attempted suicide. Participants report improvements in school and family functioning. Practical implications – Findings may be useful in design of programs (not necessarily suicide prevention) serving immigrant, low income, and urban populations. Originality/value – LIP is an innovative program that addresses the unique risk factors facing Latina adolescents. LIP's success makes it a promising avenue to learn about preventing suicidal behavior in this vulnerable population.

Objectives Latina adolescents have high rates of suicidal behavior. Life is Precious (LIP), a community-based program in New York City, helps adolescents and families address risk factors facing Latinas. Methods Participants are assessed for suicidal ideation, depressive and other psychiatric symptoms, and family functioning, at program entry and every four months during participation. Demographic characteristics and suicide attempts are also tracked. Results In the study period, there were no attempted or completed suicides in this high-risk population. Suicidal ideation, depressive symptoms, anger, and posttraumatic stress symptoms decreased significantly during participation. Conclusion The LIP model shows promise for helping to address suicidal risk factors facing Latinas. However, in the absence of a comparison group, participants' improvement may be due to their engagement in mental health treatment more generally, or to the passage of time, rather than specifically to LIP. Nevertheless, as very little is known about how to address risk factors unique to Latina adolescents, these early findings may be of interest to the community serving Latina adolescents and the lessons may be of interest to programs serving adolescents from other racial/ethnic groups. Future research should develop comparison groups and test LIP implementation in other settings.

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Life is Precious (LIP) was developed to help reduce suicidal behavior in Latina adolescents. As part of an external evaluation of the LIP program, we conducted focus groups with adolescent participants and mothers, to learn whether participants and families believe that the activities of LIP address risks for suicidal behavior. Four focus groups were conducted: three with Latina adolescent LIP participants (n=31) and one with mothers (n=8). Transcripts were analyzed using ATLAS.ti. A grounded theory approach was used to identify themes and sub-themes. The following themes emerged: 1) Challenges contributing to suicidal behavior and self-harm among Latina adolescents; 2) How respondents believe that LIP is helping to reduce suicidal behavior; and 3) Ongoing challenges. Participants say that the LIP program helps adolescents feel better, and improve social relationships, academic performance, and relationships with their family. School nurses may wish to identify community-based programs offering similar services.

Título: Intervención psicológica escalonada con trastornos mentales comunes en Atención Primaria. Resumen: Se analiza un modelo de intervención psicológica para trastornos mentales comunes realizado en seis centros de Atención Primaria (CAP). Dos psicólogos/as clínicos/as (PC) y cuatro psicólogas internas residentes (PIR) entrevistan a 566 usuarios para intervenir en trastornos leves o moderados de ansiedad y/o depresión, duelo e insomnio no orgánico. Tras una evaluación estandarizada se propone una intervención escalonada en función del diagnóstico y la gravedad del trastorno: indicación de no tratamiento, intervención breve en CAP (grupal o individual) o derivación. Se recogen variables sociodemográficas y clínicas que permiten describir la muestra y hacer comparaciones entre grupos. De las 566 personas derivadas la edad media fue de 37 años, el 70 % son mujeres, 50% en tratamiento psicofarmacológico y 10% de baja laboral. Se indica no tratamiento al 19%, intervención en CAP al 71% y derivación a salud mental al 10%. Predominan trastornos adaptativos, afectivos y de ansiedad generalizada, existiendo diferencias significativas según ubicación del CAP y modo integración del PC en el CAP. La mayor accesibilidad a intervenciones psicológicas integrando al PC en AP reduce la medicalización de patologías mentales leves y/o moderadas. La evaluación previene el inicio de tratamientos innecesarios, aumentando la probabilidad de indicación apropiada de tratamiento, lo que resultaría coste-efectivo. Palabras clave: Psicología clínica; atención primaria; intervención psicoló-gica; trastorno mental. Abstract: A model of psychological intervention for common mental disorders in Primary Care is analized. Two clinical psychologists and four resident psychologists interviewed 566 users to treat mild to moderate anxiety / depression disorders, bereavement or nonorganic insomnia disorders. Standardized assessment leads to a stepped intervention: indication of no treatment, brief group or individual intervention in Primary Care Center (PCC) or referral to Mental Health. Socio-demographic and clinical variables describe the sample and allow comparison betwen groups. Of the 566 interviewees, the mean age was 37 years, 70% were women, 50% with psychopharmacological treatment and 10% on sick leave. The steps of intervention were: 19% were intervention indication of no treatment, 71% PCC intervention and 10% were referred to Mental Health. Adaptive, emotional and generalized anxiety disorders were predominant, with significant differences between centers depending on the location and clinical psychologist integration mode in PCC. Integrating the clinical psychologist in PCC improve access to psychological interventions and reduces mild to moderate mental disorders medication. Assessment prevents unnecessary treatment onset and increases the likelihood of appropriate treatment indications, which is cost-effective.