Evidence Hub

Feasibility, Acceptability, and Impact of the Couples Crisis Response Plan (CCRP) to Reduce Post-Discharge Suicide Risk: A Randomized Controlled Trial

May AM, Bryan CJ, Baucom BRW

Suicide & life-threatening behavior, 2026

Abstract

Introduction: Most suicide interventions focus on the individual and exclude a relationship partner. This is despite substantial evidence from other mental health conditions that including family members in care improves outcomes. The present study is a pilot randomized controlled trial of a partner-involved adaptation of CRP examining feasibility, acceptability, and impact.

Methods: Ninety-one active-duty service members and their romantic partners were recruited from an inpatient psychiatric unit. Couples were randomized to: (1) the Couples Crisis Response Plan (CCRP) condition or (2) a couples psychoeducation (CPE) condition and completed 1, 3, and 6 month follow up assessments.

Results: Feasibility analyses show that participants and their partners were recruited and retained. Acceptability analyses showed over 90% of patients and 70%-96% of partners were satisfied with the interventions. No differences emerged between the CCRP and the CPE in suicide ideation or suicidal behavior, but patients in CCRP reported significantly fewer negative communication patterns throughout follow up and fewer suicidal cognitions at 6 month follow-up compared to those in CPE.

Conclusions: Partner-involved brief suicide prevention interventions are feasible and acceptable. The skills-based CCRP intervention may reduce destructive communication patterns and degrade suicidal cognitions more than a couples psychoeducation session.

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

Read the paper

Related studies

Go deeper in Evidence Hub

Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.

Open this study Sign up free