Research finding · June 2026
A recent evidence update highlights progress in treatments for youth self-injury
Youth suicide and self-injury remain urgent public health concerns, and identifying treatments that meaningfully reduce suicidal thoughts and behaviors is a critical priority in child and adolescent mental health care. As new clinical trials are conducted, researchers regularly re-evaluate the strength of evidence supporting different interventions, examining whether findings replicate in multiple studies across settings, populations, and independent research teams. These evidence-based updates help clarify which treatments have the strongest support, which approaches remain promising and preliminary, and where additional research is still needed to improve care for youth experiencing suicide risk and self-injury.
With her AFSP-funded work, Dr. Catherine Glenn conducted a systematic review of randomized controlled trials published between 2018 and 2024 on psychosocial treatments for self-injurious thoughts and behaviors in youth. Using established evidence-rating criteria, treatments were classified across levels ranging from “experimental” and “possibly efficacious” to “probably efficacious” and “well-established,” based on factors such as replication, study quality, and consistency of results. The review found that Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Adolescents (DBT-A) remains the only well-established psychosocial treatment for reducing self-injurious thoughts and behaviors in youth, and was newly elevated to well-established status for reducing adolescent suicide attempts following additional successful randomized trials. Family Therapy was reclassified as probably efficacious for reducing suicidal ideation; and one cognitive behavioral therapy approach that combines individual and family components was reclassified as experimental for reducing suicide attempts due to inconsistent findings across studies. Several newer interventions, such as including emotion regulation, mindfulness, and safety-planning approaches, also showed encouraging but still developing evidence. Overall, the findings highlight both the meaningful progress and ongoing challenges involved in building a rigorous evidence base for youth suicide prevention treatments.
Citation: Erika C. Esposito, Kinjal K. Patel, Sunday Hull, Camille N. Johnson, Maya A. Patel & Catherine R. Glenn (2026): Evidence Base Update of Psychosocial Treatments for Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors in Youth: 2018–2024, Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2026.2613368
This finding comes from an AFSP-funded study — see the grant below ↓
