ASSIST Lab

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Welcome to the ASSIST Lab website! We highlight various aspects of our work, such as ongoing projects, people in our lab, how to get involved, tools for researchers and clinicians, and resources to help individuals who are struggling.

About the ASSIST Lab

The ASSIST Lab is interested in improving risk prediction and prevention for self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITB; i.e., nonsuicidal self-injury, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts) in daily life, with a particular focus on how social contexts impact these associations. 

Our overarching program of research falls under two, interrelated domains:

The first domain is centered on enhancing SITB assessment and, consequently, identification of SITB risk. As our research largely focuses on understanding how SITB processes play out in daily life, we are working to develop more efficient ways to obtain active assessments within a given day. This includes the development of an Adaptive Time Assessment System (ATIS), which aims to improve the timing of assessments, and a Computerized Adapative Test (CAT) for ecological momentary assessment (EMA), which aims to improve the content of assessments. We are also working to understand how different forms of passive assessment, such as smartphone screenshots (i.e., Screenomics), Garmin-watch based data, and voice analysis, can enhance active assessment prediction. 

The second domain is centered on enhancing SITB prevention and intervention. We have ongoing work aimed at understanding the disclosure process, which is one of the first, and central, steps in help-seeking. Dr. Ammerman also co-developed a single-session group intervention that has been used in a psychiatric inpatient setting, adapted for an outpatient setting, and is currently being modified to an online format. The lab aims to create digital interventions that can be paired with advancements in risk assessment and identification.