Current Projects

The Pathways Study: A Mechanistic Analysis of the Transition from Nonsuicidal to Suicidal Self-Injury in Adolescents

The purpose of this study is to identify the underlying mediating mechanisms in the relationship between NSSI, the single strongest predictor of SAs, and suicidal behavior among adolescents(13 to 17 years). This study aims to identify who will transition to SA, assessing four candidate mediating processes underlying the NSSI to SA transition (intrapersonal distress, social connection, emotion regulation, and self-view). Specifically, we will will assess NSSI severity multidimensionally, at baseline and follow-ups, using novel methodology to obtain an objective clinical assessment paired with gold-standard self-report measures.

This project is housed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is in collaboration with Drs. Taylor Burke and Richard Liu (Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School), Dr. Ross Jacobucci (UW Center for Healthy Minds), and Dr. Thomas Serre (Brown University).

Healthy Minds Program App Pilot: Testing a Digital Mindfulness Program to Support People Experiencing Suicidal Thoughts

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary impact of the Healthy Minds Program (HMP), a freely available digital MBI, among individuals experiencing recent suicidal thoughts or behaviors. This pilot trial will test whether HMP can be safely and effectively implemented with this high-risk population, focusing on participant engagement, app usability, and perceptions of relevance and helpfulness. In addition, the study will provide initial evidence on whether use of HMP is associated with reductions in suicidal ideation and improvements in proposed mechanisms of change, including mindfulness, reward/loss sensitivity, self-compassion, sense of purpose, and connection. Establishing feasibility and acceptability in this population is a critical first step toward developing scalable, mechanism-informed digital interventions that can address suicide risk in real time and overcome barriers to traditional care.

FADS: Factors Altering Daily Self-Injury

This project collects both active (i.e., self-report) and passive (i.e., screenshots; geolocation) data from individuals at a granular timescale to better understand both proximal risk and protective factors for NSSI. To accomplish this, we will utilize both ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and a form of digital phenotyping, termed Screenomics, that captures screenshots from participant’s phones every five seconds and simultaneously captures geolocation at the time of screenshot capture. These data will be used in tandem to indirectly identify NSSI risk in real-time (via generated and viewed text) and forecast future acts of NSSI from digital social interactions – through application usage, text messages, and social media, and their context (i.e., in the home, outside the home) which are linked to NSSI, as well as consider the factors that may exacerbate this risk (i.e., general distress, post-traumatic stress symptoms) or buffer against it (i.e., positive social interactions, adaptive coping)

This project is housed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is in collaboration with Dr. Ross Jacobucci (UW Center for Healthy Minds).

CAT-SRP: Computerized Adaptive Test for Suicide Risk Pathways

This project hopes to learn whether our adaptive assessment platform can more efficiently assess suicidal thoughts and risk factors, allowing for a closer approximation of the true associations. Indeed, there is a need to identify near-term risk factors prior to suicidal thought occurrences to successfully deliver an intervention and prevent suicidal outcomes. These findings will support the development and successful implementation of just-in-time adaptive interventions through increased precision of suicide risk detection and targeted intervention timing.

This project is housed at UW and is in collaboration with Dr. Ross Jacobucci (UW Center for Healthy Minds), Dr. Kenneth McClure (University of Wyoming), and Notre Dame Center for Research Computing.

ASSIST: Advancing Student Suicide Interventions with Scalable Technologies

Funding Source: Center for Accelerating Practices to End Suicide (CAPES) at University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School | R03 Project supported by P50MH129701

This project is examining whether JasprHealth, a digital tool designed to support people at high risk for suicide, can be adapted to help reduce suicidal thoughts and behaviors in college students. In addition to understanding what supports or challenges affect how Jaspr can be used in real-world care, we are examining whether Jaspr alone or Jaspr plus human augmentation is more feasible to implement and more helpful for students.

This project is housed at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and is in collaboration with Dr. Katie Dixon-Gordon (University of Massachusetts Amherst).