Experiences of Private Clinical Psychologists about using No-Suicide Contracts In India: A Qualitative Exploratory Study

This is a qualitative, prospective, cross-sectional study titled “Experiences of Private Clinical Psychologists about using No-Suicide Contracts in India: A Qualitative Exploratory Study.” The aim of the study is to explore the experiences of clinical psychologists about using No-Suicide Contracts (NSCs) in their private psychotherapy practice in India. The objectives are to understand the attitudes and experiences of clinical psychologists in private practice using no-suicide contracts, to explore the influence of the no-suicide contract in the psychotherapy process, and to explore the ethical concerns of private clinical psychologists in India regarding the use of no-suicide contracts. The study will be conducted in two phases. Phase I will involve expert validation of the semi-structured interview guide by five subject experts using Fleiss’ Kappa to assess content validity .Phase II will include semi-structured interviews with 20–30 licensed clinical psychologists in private practice across India, selected through purposive sampling. Data will be analyzed using Thematic Analysis following Braun and Clarke’s (2006) framework, with triangulation, member checking, and reflexivity to ensure credibility and trustworthiness. The expected outcomes include themes related to the purpose, implementation, ethical dilemmas, cultural factors, and clinical implications of NSCs in psychotherapy. The findings will contribute to developing standardized, ethically sound, and culturally sensitive guidelines for the use of NSCs, thereby enhancing clinical training, ethical practice, and patient-centered therapeutic interventions.