Current Research Studies
Mobile Health Intervention for Parents after an Emergency Department Visit
The primary aim of this study is to develop and test a text-messaging based supportive intervention (the Intervention for Parent Education About Care after the ED; iPEACE) designed to help parents navigate services and manage their child’s mental health after a crisis. Caregivers of teens who are evaluated in the VCH Emergency Department and whose child is discharged home with referrals to outpatient-level services may be eligible to participate. This study is funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (5R34MH132711).
Predicting Adolescent Transition after Hospitalization (PATH) Study
In collaboration with Drs. Autumn Kujawa and Richard Liu, the PATH study aims to examine neural and emotional predictors of suicidal behavior in adolescents following discharge from acute psychiatric treatment.
Completed Research Studies
Emotion Regulation Flexibility & Suicide Risk Study
We are currently enrolling teens ages 14 -17 in a study to learn more about the relationship between emotion regulation flexibility and suicide risk. We aim to learn more about how teens manage their emotions in their daily lives and how this impacts their risk for suicide, self-harm, and other related mental health problems. Teens who are receiving treatment in the Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital Adolescent Inpatient Program and Adolescent Partial Hospital Program may be eligible to participate. This study is funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (K23-122737).
Mobile Health Intervention for Parents after an Emergency Department Visit
We are currently enrolling parents of teens (ages 11-17) who are seen in the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital Emergency Department for a psychiatric emergency in a study testing a new text-messaging intervention. The primary aim of this study is to develop and test a text-messaging based supportive intervention (the Intervention for Parent Education About Care after the ED; iPEACE) designed to help parents navigate services and manage their child’s mental health after a crisis. Parents of teens who are evaluated in the VCH Emergency Department and whose child is discharged home with referrals to outpatient-level services may be eligible to participate. This study is funded by the Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation.
Understanding Teen Suicide and Self-Harm Disclosures
We are currently enrolling parents in two studies to understand how parents/caregivers respond to their child’s disclosures of suicidal thoughts, suicidal behaviors, and self-harm. Our goal is to develop and refine clinical guidelines for providers and parents about how to communicate with teens about their suicide and/or self-harm risk. In addition, we hope to develop clinical interventions to support parents when learning about their child’s risk to promote positive outcomes in teens.
Project Anchor is a collaboration with Drs. Kathryn Fox and Taylor Burke to understand parents’ reactions to learning about their child’s potential risk for suicide or self-harm through a parental monitoring app. Read more about Project Anchor here. Project Anchor is funded by the Mental Research Institute.
The CaRES Study is an online-only survey study for parents who learned about their child’s suicidal thoughts and/or suicidal behavior recently for the first time. Read more about the study and see if you are eligible to participate here.
Project EnCORE: Engaging Caregivers: an Oasis-Vanderbilt Research Effort
Project EnCORE is an ongoing collaboration with clinicians and researchers at VUMC/Vanderbilt and the Oasis Center of Nashville to support parents and caregivers of LGBTQ+ youth receiving mental health services. We are currently enrolling parents of LGBTQ+ youth in focus groups to discuss what kind of supports would be most helpful to them and their children. For more information about this study and to see if you are eligible to participate, fill out our study interest form here.