An interventional study of Smartphone-delivered Therapeutic Evaluative Conditioning for Suicide (TEC-S) and Smartphone-delivered inactive Therapeutic Evaluative Conditioning in Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempt, sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-07-13.
Sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
This study aims to evaluate the acceptability, safety, and efficacy of a smartphone-delivered intervention called Therapeutic Evaluative Conditioning for Suicide (TEC-S) in reducing suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) among adults with recent and frequent suicide ideation.
The present study is a two-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) designed to evaluate the safety, acceptability, and efficacy of Therapeutic Evaluative Conditioning for Suicide (TEC-S), a smartphone-delivered intervention aimed at reducing suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB). Participants in this study will be 60 adult participants (ages 18+) who report recent and frequent STB, residing within the greater-Boston, Ma area.
Participants will be randomized to receive either the control condition, which consists of 3x/daily ecological momentary assessment (EMA) of emotions and STBs and optional inactive TEC (n = 30), or the experimental condition, consisting of 3x/daily EMA and optional active TEC-S (n = 30). Evaluative conditioning uses classical conditioning to alter attitudes. The aim of TEC-S is to alter attitudes toward suicide and, in turn, reduce STB. EMAs will monitor STB, safety, and acceptability, and efficacy. Weekly behavioral and self-report assays will assess hypothesized treatment mechanisms. The study's aim is to determine if the active TEC-S condition reduces STB and to explore if altered attitudes toward suicide mediates this effect.
569 studies on the registry are indexed under Suicidal Ideation; 203 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 60 is below the median of 80 across 469 interventional studies indexed under Suicidal Ideation.
Browse Suicidal Ideation studies →Massachusetts General Hospital is the lead sponsor of 2,586 studies on the registry; 447 are open to participants now.
Of its 222 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 168 (76%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Optional smartphone-delivered inactive Therapeutic Evaluative Conditioning (inactive TEC) for 30 days.
Behavioral: Smartphone-delivered inactive Therapeutic Evaluative Conditioning
Optional smartphone-delivered active Therapeutic Evaluative Conditioning for Suicide (active TEC-S) for 30 days.
Behavioral: Smartphone-delivered Therapeutic Evaluative Conditioning for Suicide (TEC-S)
Therapeutic Evaluative Conditioning for Suicide (active TEC-S) is a behavioral treatment where participants are given optional access to a computerized task/game where they repeatedly pair suicidal behavior stimuli (pictures, words) with other negative stimuli and self-related stimuli with positive stimuli.
Therapeutic Evaluative Conditioning (inactive TEC-S) is a behavioral treatment where participants are given optional access to a computerized task/game where they repeatedly pair positive and negative stimuli (pictures, words) with each other.
Desire to die by suicide (Likert)
Right now, how strongly do you want to kill yourself? \[0 (not at all) to 10 (extremely)\]; assessed via 3x/day ecological momentary assessment (Kleiman et al., 2018)
Time frame: Through completion of treatment phase (day 1 through 30)
Suicide intent (Likert)
Right now, how strong is your intention to kill yourself today? \[0 (I am definitely not going to kill myself today) to 10 (I am definitely going to kill myself today)\]; assessed via 3x/day ecological momentary assessment
Time frame: Through completion of treatment phase (day 1 through 30)
Suicide urge (Likert)
Right now, how strong is your urge to kill yourself \[0 (not at all) to 10 (very strong)\]; assessed via 3x/day ecological momentary assessment.
Time frame: Through completion of treatment phase (day 1 through 30)
Suicide thought incidence
Since the last survey, have you had suicidal thoughts? (yes/no); assessed daily via ecological momentary assessment
Time frame: Through treatment phase completed (day 1 through 30)
Suicide planning incidence
Since the last survey, have you made a plan to kill yourself? (yes/no); assessed daily via ecological momentary assessment
Time frame: Through completion of treatment phase (day 1 through 30)
Suicide preparation incidence
Since the last survey, have you made any preparations to kill yourself? (yes/no); assessed daily via ecological momentary assessment.
Time frame: Through completion of treatment phase (day 1 through 30)
Suicide attempt incidence
Since the last survey, have you attempted to kill yourself? (yes/no); assessed daily via ecological momentary assessment
Time frame: Through completion of treatment phase (day 1 through 30)
Suicidal behaviors (composite)
A composite variable consisting of (i) suicide plan incidence, (ii) suicide preparation incidence, (iii) suicide attempt incidence, each assessed via ecological momentary assessment
Time frame: Through completion of treatment phase (day 1 through 30)
Suicide aversion (AMP)
Suicide aversion assessed implicitly/behaviorally via the Affect Misattribution Procedure (AMP; Payne et al., 2005)
Time frame: Through completion of treatment phase (day 1 through 30)
Suicide aversion (Likert)
Valence ratings of suicide-related pictures using a 9-point scale (-4 \[extremely unpleasant\] to 0 \[neutral\] to 4 \[extremely pleasant\]); assessed weekly (Jaroszewski et al., 2022).
Time frame: Through completion of treatment phase (day 1 through 30)
Self affection (AMP)
Self affection assessed implicitly/behaviorally via the Affect Misattribution Procedure (AMP; Payne et al., 2005)
Time frame: Through completion of treatment phase (day 1 through 30)
Start is estimated for Jan 2027; primary completion for Jul 2029, 29 months later.
Of 281 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Suicidal Ideation, half reached primary completion within 30 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 13 and three quarters within 54. This study's planned 29 months is close to that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 290 studies reached it within 29 months; a quarter within 13 and three quarters within 53.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Apr 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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