Trial reportThe American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry2021
A Pilot Randomized Trial of Engage Psychotherapy to Increase Social Connection and Reduce Suicide Risk in Later Life.
Trial report in The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Social reward processing in depressed and healthy individuals across the lifespan: A systematic review and a preliminary coordinate-based meta-analysis of fMRI studies.Behavioural brain research · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Feasibility, acceptability, and outcomes: A pilot trial of the enhancing social function in older veterans with PTSD (ESVP) group intervention.Psychological services · 2026Trial
- A pilot randomized mobile health mindfulness intervention for older adult caregivers of family members with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.Aging & mental health · 2025Trial
- Among key social determinants, connection associated with lowest odds of non-suicidal self-injury and suicidal ideation among Australian youth.The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry · 2026Article
- The Role of Psychological Interventions in the Mental Health and Quality of Life of Older Adults: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis of Mindfulness, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Reminiscence-Based Approaches.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2026Review
- Age matters: a narrative review and machine learning analysis on shared and separate multidimensional risk domains for early and late onset suicidal behavior.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Psychotherapy for older adults with depression: a narrative review.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Correlates of Loneliness in Parkinson Disease During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The Psychology of Social Isolation and Loneliness in Later Life.Clinics in geriatric medicine · 2025Review
- Investigating Direct and Moderating Effects of Social Connectedness and Perceived Social Support on Suicidal Ideation in Older Adults With Depression: A Prospective Study.Biological psychiatry global open science · 2025Article
- The 5D indicators of suicide risk in older adults who are lonely.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2025Article
- Dynamic effects of psychiatric vulnerability, loneliness and isolation on distress during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.Nature. Mental health · 2025Article
- A Systematic Review of Social Support Instruments for Measurement-Based Care in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.) · 2024Article
- Improving social reward responsivity and social connectedness in psychotherapies for late-life depression: Engage & Connect as an example.Psychiatry research · 2023Article
- Biological factors influencing depression in later life: role of aging processes and treatment implications.Translational psychiatry · 2023Review
- Daily-level assessment of the contexts under which seeking social support relates to risk of suicidal thinking.Suicide & life-threatening behavior · 2022Article
- Promoting Social Connection in Dementia Caregivers: A Call for Empirical Development of Targeted Interventions.The Gerontologist · 2022Article
- Improving Interventions for Loneliness and Social Isolation in Late Life: The Potential Role of Positive Affect.The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry · 2022Article
- The influence of depression on the relationship between loneliness and grief trajectories in bereaved older adults.Psychiatry research communications · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundTargeting social connection to prevent suicide in later life shows promise but requires additional study to identify the most effective and acceptable interventions. This study examines acceptability, feasibility, and efficacy of Engage Psychotherapy to improve subjective disconnection (target mechanisms: low belonging and perceived burden), and improve clinical and functional outcomes (depression, suicide ideation, quality of life).
methodsPilot randomized trial with adults age 60 and older who reported feeling lonely and/or like a burden. Participants were randomly assigned to 10 sessions of 'Social Engage' (S-ENG; n = 32) or care-as-usual (CAU; n = 30), with follow-up assessments at 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 10 weeks.
resultsS-ENG is feasible to deliver over 10 sessions and acceptable to older adults who report social disconnection-a population at risk for suicide. Participants were willing and able to focus each session on social engagement and demonstrated high levels of compliance. Social Engage did not show preliminary evidence of impact on belonging or perceived burden but was effective in reducing depressive symptoms and improving social-emotional quality of life. DISCUSSION: S-ENG holds promise for improving social-emotional quality of life and depressive symptoms. Future research is needed to identify and measure target mechanisms that account for clinical and functional improvement.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.