-
Hospital bed - Source: Thinkstock -
Watch Video
-
Related
Problem-solving threapy may help suicidal New Zealanders, according to a study by University of Auckland researchers.
Published in the British Journal of Psychiatry this month, the study is the world's largest trial focused on the benefits of the therapy for people who have attempted suicide and been hospitalised.
The therapy involves patients having about five one-hour sessions of face-to-face talking therapy that teaches them a structured way to identify and solve problems in their lives.
Findings showed that all patients who received problem-solving therapy were less hopeless, less depressed and had fewer suicidal thoughts than those who did not receive the treatment or received the usual care.
Usual care involves referral to mental health professionals and recommendations for joining drug and alcohol treatment centres, among other options.
The controlled trial, funded by ACC, looked at 1094 randomly selected people who appeared in emergency departments between September 2005 and June 2008 at four district health boards (DHBs) in New Zealand.
Although the therapy did not lead to lower rates of repeat self-harm for all people, the risk of appearing in hospital again over the next year was significantly lowered for those who had a history of attempted suicide or self harm (around 40% of the group).
"Self-harm is common and those admitted to hospital because of this are an easily identifiable high-risk group, so there is an important opportunity for intervention, particularly in relation to suicide prevention," lead investigator, Associate Professor Dr Simon Hatcher, said.
He said the findings offer hope for people who repeated self-harm that something can be done to help them.
"It shows that the burden of this problem on hospital emergency departments can be reduced and potentially it could help reduce New Zealand's suicide rate."
The team at The University of Auckland is currently investigating whether other factors in conjunction with therapy, such as receiving regular postcards to show people are thinking about them, would further improve patients' wellbeing.
They are also looking at the effectiveness of similar treatments delivered by Maori for Maori.
Latest NZ News Video
-
Dance to save Shakti service (0:41)
-
The changing face of farming (1:49)
-
ONE Weather 6pm update: 26 May (4:56)
