Relationship Checkups to Reduce Veteran Suicide Risk

Not Applicable

Recruiting

• Conditions: Mental Health; Relationship Distress
• Interventions: Behavioral: Co-Located Collaborative Care (CCC); Behavioral: Brief Relationship Checkup (BRC)

• Registration Number: NCT05525676
• Lead Sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development

Brief Summary

This study compares two approaches to working with Veterans that have a mix of mental health and relationship concerns in primary care. One approach is a 3-session couple-based program called the Brief Relationship Checkup (BRC). BRC has shown promise improving relationship health in Air Force primary care (including some mental health symptoms related to relationship functioning) but has never been tested for individuals with significant mental health concerns. The other approach is a high-quality delivery of three sessions of Co-Located Collaborative Care (CCC) with the Screened Veteran only. This program is the current standard of care for Veterans reporting mental health concerns in primary care (including mental health concerns related to their relationship) but has never been tested for individuals struggling with relationship concerns. The goal is to compare the benefits of the couples-based program vs. the individual-based program when it comes to reducing suicide risk factors at the relationship level and the individual level.

Detailed Description

BACKGROUND: Romantic relationship distress is a common area of concern for Veterans struggling with depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), alcohol misuse, and suicide ideation. In a study of Veterans who screened positive for the above concerns in primary care, 58% of partnered Veterans reported romantic relationship problems. Relationship problems are also a prominent risk factor for suicide, preceding 24% of Veteran suicide deaths and 50% for Veterans 18-35. Conversely, full participation in mutually supportive relationships confers protection against suicide. This suggests it may be able to offset risk by turning distressed relationships into protective partnerships. Unfortunately, the intensive formats of existing couple therapies result in couples discontinuing after 2-3 sessions or delaying treatment until they are close to breakup. This underscores the need for brief relationship support that is accessible through primary care mental health (PC-MHI).

Relationship Checkup programs incorporates a combination of couple therapy and motivational interviewing techniques to encourage couples to make concrete commitments to improve their relationship. The Brief Relationship Checkup (BRC) is a three 30-minute session version initially designed to address relationship distress in primary care. BRC demonstrates efficacy in reducing suicide risk factors such as relationship dysfunction and depressed mood while promoting protective factors such as mutual responsiveness to one another's concerns, a core element of supportive relationships. Earlier Checkup programs have also been shown to increase individual and couple therapy engagement. In an open label pilot trial, the investigators found BRC was feasible and acceptable to Veterans screening positive on VA PC-MHI screens. The investigators also found its highly structured framework could be learned by trainees without prior couple therapy experience.

RESEARCH PLAN: This study is a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of BRC administered to evaluate its ability to modify suicide risk/protective factors. Up to 360 participants will be enrolled and screened by phone to identify couples that are in distressed committed relationship where at least one partner is a Veteran who screens positive on a PC-MHI screen for common suicide risk factors including suicide ideation, depression, PTSD, or alcohol misuse (the "Screened Veteran"). The target is to randomize 72 couples (144 individuals) to BRC or to three sessions of the current PC-MHI Co-Located Collaborative Care model (CCC) for the Screened Veteran only. All participants will complete baseline, post-treatment, 3-month, and 6-month assessments.

SPECIFIC AIMS: The study will provide the foundations for a larger clinical trial proposal through pursuit of the following research aims and hypotheses (H):

AIM 1: Determine BRC's efficacy in improving relationship factors related to suicide for both partners.

AIM 2: Determine BRC's efficacy in improving individual factors related to suicide for the Screened Veteran.

AIM 3: Develop and validate a fidelity codebook to operationalize BRC adherence and clinician competency.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2022-08-30
• Study First Submitted QC: 2022-08-30
• Study First Posted: 2022-09-01
• Study Start: 2023-01-03
• Status Verified: 2025-05
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-05-08
• Last Update Posted: 2025-05-11
• Primary Completion: 2026-09-30
• Study Completion: 2027-09-30

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 360

Inclusion Criteria

1. BOTH PARTNERS must be age 18 or over
2. BOTH PARTNERS must demonstrate sufficient knowledge of English and cognitive capacity to understand the study through comprehension of consent questions
3. BOTH PARTNERS must self-identify as "in a committed relationship" with their partner for at least 6-months.
4. AT LEAST ONE PARTNER must report at least mild relationship distress on a relationship satisfaction screen (CSI-4).
5. AT LEAST ONE PARTNER must be a VHA-enrolled Veteran who screens positive on a VA Primary Care Mental Health Screen for ONE OR MORE of the following conditions: Depressed Mood, Unsafe drinking, Posttraumatic stress, or Suicidal Ideation.

Exclusion Criteria

1. EITHER PARTNER reports that they are already engaged in ongoing couple or family therapy.
2. EITHER PARTNER reports severe intimate partner violence in the last year.
3. EITHER PARTNER reports ongoing or upcoming legal conflicts between one another (e.g., custody dispute; restraining order; divorce proceedings)
4. EITHER PARTNER reports experiencing suicidal intent requiring hospitalization.
5. EITHER PARTNER experiences past-month psychosis or mania.
6. EITHER PARTNER has completed therapy with the PI, Dr. Dev Crasta, within the last 5 years.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Co-Located Collaborative Care (CCC)	Co-Located Collaborative Care (CCC)	The comparison condition will be three sessions of Co-Located Collaborative Care (CCC) offered to the Screened Veteran only. This reflects the current standard of care in VA Primary Care Mental Health.
Brief Relationship Checkup (BRC)	Brief Relationship Checkup (BRC)	Couples in the experimental condition will participate in three joint sessions of the Brief Relationship Checkup (BRC; Cordova 2014; Cigrang et al., 2016). This program has been tested in Air Force Primary Care but has not been explored in Veterans with ongoing mental health issues and has not been compared to an active treatment.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Relationship Functioning	Monthly Change over 6 Months Post-Treatment (approx. 1.5 months to 7.5 months after randomization)	Relationship Functioning will be measured using the Couples Satisfaction Index (CSI). The self-report scale has a minimum of 0 and a maximum of 161 with higher scores representing more satisfying relationships and scores \< 104.5 classified as "distressed." The CSI is widely used in couple therapy research and is used routinely in VA care to evaluate Veterans' progress in evidence-based couple therapies. Analyses will compare relationship functioning across both Screened Veterans and their Partners using 3-level multilevel models with waves of assessment (Level 1) nested within individual partners (Level 2) nested within couples (Level 3).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Treatment Engagement in Mental Health Services	180 day period after Post-Treatment session (1.5 months after randomization)	Treatment engagement in mental health services will be assessed through a review of the electronic medical record over each of the following windows: 1) 180-day period prior to baseline session; 2) during the treatment period from baseline to post-treatment, 3) the 180-day period after the post-treatment assessment. Over each window, staff will review appointments (e.g., individual, group, assessments), consults placed (e.g., General Mental Health; MST coordinator); and new prescriptions. Analyses will compare treatment engagement using 2-level multilevel models with assessment periods (Level 1) nested within Screened Veterans (Level 2). Their partners may or may not have VA electronic medical records, but available partner data will be used as a covariate. Treatment efficacy is defined as the Screened Veterans' treatment engagement being significantly greater in one arm than the other after accounting for treatment utilization prior to baseline (p\<.05).
Emotional Intimacy/Mutual Responsiveness	Monthly Change over 6 Months Post-Treatment (approx. 1.5 months to 7.5 months after randomization)	Emotional Intimacy will be measured using the Perceived Responsiveness \& Insensitivity Scale (PRI). The PRI has a minimum of 0 and a maximum of 80. The PRI is an optimized measure of "Perceived Partner Responsiveness," a model of emotional intimacy that is widely used in the field to understand whether partners see one another as understanding/caring. Analyses will compare responsiveness across both Screened Veterans and their Partners using 3-level multilevel models with waves of assessment (Level 1) nested within individual partners (Level 2) nested within couples (Level 3).

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

VA Finger Lakes Healthcare System, Canandaigua, NY; 🇺🇸 Canandaigua, New York, United States