An Intensive Outpatient Program for Suicidal College Students

Objective: College counseling centers (CCCs) have limited capacity to accommodate high-risk students who need more intensive care than traditional outpatient treatment. We describe an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) to meet the specialized needs of suicidal undergraduates. Participants: Suicidal...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of American college health Vol. 71; no. 1; pp. 24 - 29
Main Authors Salk, Rachel H, Moses-Kolko, Eydie L, Chugani, Carla D, Mastruserio, Susan, Wentroble, Erin, Blackburn, Vint, Poling, Kimberly, Sakolsky, Dara, Brent, David, Goldstein, Tina R
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Taylor & Francis 2023
Taylor & Francis Inc
Subjects
Adolescent
At Risk Persons
At risk populations
Clinical Diagnosis
Clinics
College students
Counseling
Drug Therapy
Drugs
High risk
Humans
Inpatient care
Intensive care
Mental Health
Outpatient treatment
Outpatients
Prevention
Program Effectiveness
Risk assessment
School Health Services
Skill Development
Students - psychology
Suicidal Ideation
Suicide
Traditional medicine
Undergraduate Students
Universities
Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh)
Suicide
treatment
undergraduates
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Summary:Objective: College counseling centers (CCCs) have limited capacity to accommodate high-risk students who need more intensive care than traditional outpatient treatment. We describe an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) to meet the specialized needs of suicidal undergraduates. Participants: Suicidal undergraduates aged 18--24. Methods: Fact-gathering meetings with local universities confirmed high need for prompt access to IOP care for students presenting in crisis at CCCs and emergency rooms, and post-inpatient discharge. We thus iteratively designed and implemented the College Option Services for Teens at Risk (COSTAR) IOP. Results: The 6-week program includes initial diagnostic evaluation and risk assessment followed by weekly skills groups, individual therapy, and medication management. Between September 2017 and January 2020, 148 students (M age = 19.7) attended an average of 5.7 COSTAR group sessions (SD = 4.7). Conclusions: A specialty IOP for suicidal college students holds promise in a stepped care approach for at-risk college students.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:0744-8481
1940-3208
DOI:10.1080/07448481.2021.1879814