Suicide Ideation and Acceptability Toward Online Help‐Seeking

Abstract

Suicidal individuals are unlikely to engage in face-to-face treatment. The Internet is emerging as an innovative approach for intervention delivery, particularly for those unable or unwilling to attend traditional treatment. Participants (N = 459) were recruited to fill out online questionnaires on suicide ideation and help-seeking modality preference. The majority of participants endorsed preferring face-to-face help over web-based help. Results from multinominal logistic regression indicated that suicide ideation was significantly related to preferring online methods versus face-to-face methods. This study highlights that the Internet can provide a novel platform to treat individuals at risk of suicide.

A randomized controlled trial of an Internet delivered dialectical behavior therapy skills training for suicidal and heavy episodic drinkers

“…Each session lasted approximately 30–50 minutes. See Wilks et al, (2017) for a more in-depth explanation of the session contents.…”

“…Specifically, one meta-analysis found that over 90% of RCTs of cCBT excluded individuals at risk for suicide, and 74% excluded individuals engaging in addictive behavior (Wilks, Zieve, & Lessing, 2016). This trend is contrasted by emerging evidence that suicidal individuals may be more likely to seek out help online compared to face-to-face consultations (Wilks, Coyle, Krek, Lungu, & Andriani 2017). Promisingly, a growing base of research evidence suggests that Internet-delivered interventions are effective in reducing problematic drinking (Rooke, Thorsteinsson, Karpin, Copeland, & Allsop, 2010; White et al, 2010), as well as suicide ideation (Lai, Maniam, Chan, & Ravindran, 2014.).…”

Internet-Delivered Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Skills Training for Suicidal and Heavy Episodic Drinkers: Protocol and Preliminary Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial

“…In addition, a rare study on alcohol-dependent suicide attempters who were hospitalized following a suicide attempt found that only 6% of participants had been enrolled in psychotherapy prior to hospitalization, and only 9% went on to receive psychotherapy in the month after discharge [ 22 ]. Interestingly, while severity of suicidal ideation has been associated with low endorsement of formal treatment engagement, suicidal individuals may be more apt to utilize such nontraditional modalities, including online and Web-based interventions [ 23 ]. For these individuals, technological mediation may offer a convenient and viable means to access needed treatment.…”

Exploring Preference to Avoid or Seek Help in Person and Online Among College Students with Suicidal Ideation

“…This study adds to the growing research suggesting that suicidal individuals may be more inclined to seek out help from online sources over face-to-face help (Seward & Harris, 2016;Wilks et al, 2018). Our findings revealed a discrepancy in online help-seeking preference between genders, with suicidal college women endorsing a significantly higher likelihood to seek out all varieties of online resources compared to men.…”

“…While treatment-engaging behavior among college students is low, the ubiquity of computing technology has given rise to novel methods of treatment delivery. In particular, emerging research has found promising results regarding interest in interventions delivered online for college students experiencing psychological distress and suicidal ideation (e.g., Lungu & Sun, 2016;Ryan, Shochet, & Stallman, 2010;Seward & Harris, 2016;Wilks, Coyle, Krek, Lungu, & Andriani, 2018). Online platforms may thus be leveraged to improve service receipt for suicidal college students.…”