An interventional study of Smartphone-delivered Therapeutic Evaluative Conditioning for Suicide (TEC-S) in Suicide Attempt and Suicide Ideation, sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-07-10.
Sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
This study aims to evaluate the acceptability, safety, and preliminary 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 one-arm open trial designed to evaluate the safety, acceptability, and preliminary 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 20 adult participants (ages 18+) who report recent and frequent STB, residing within the greater-Boston, MA area.
Participants will receive 3x/daily EMA and optional access to active TEC-S. 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 evaluate the safety, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of Therapeutic Evaluative Conditioning for Suicide (TEC-S).
281 studies on the registry are indexed under Suicide, Attempted; 91 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 20 is below the median of 129 across 224 interventional studies indexed under Suicide, Attempted.
Browse Suicide, Attempted 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 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.
TEC-S Acceptability
(i) Indexed as the proportion of TEC-S sessions accessed within the first week, (ii) adapted items from the Credibility/Expectancy Questionnaire (CEQ), rated on a 9-point scale. : "How satisfied were you with your overall experience with TEC-S?" "How satisfied were you with your understanding of how to complete TEC-S (iii)End-User Mobile Application Rating Scale (uMARS), with items rated on a 5-point scale.
Time frame: Through completion of treatment phase (day 1 through 30)
TEC-S Safety
Changes in suicide-related thoughts (e.g., intent, desire, urge, preparation) and affective responses (e.g. stress) before and after randomized stimuli in each TEC-S session, assessed via ecological momentary assessment
Time frame: Through completion of treatment phase (day 1 through 30)
Desire to die by suicide (Likert)
Right now, how strongly do you want to kill yourself? \[0 (not at all) to 10 (extremely)
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 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)
Suicidal aversion (AMP)
Suicide aversion assessed implicitly/behaviorally via the Affect Misattribution Procedure (AMP)
Time frame: Through completion of treatment phase (day 1 through 30)
Suicidal 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.
Time frame: Through completion of treatment phase (day 1 through 30)
Suicidal affection (AMP)
Self affection assessed implicitly/behaviorally via the Affect Misattribution Procedure (AMP)
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)
PDFs hosted by the registry, ClinicalTrials.gov.
Started Jan 2026 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Oct 2026, 8 months after the start.
Of 145 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Suicide, Attempted, half reached primary completion within 37 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 21 and three quarters within 56. This study's planned 8 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 147 studies reached it within 37 months; a quarter within 20 and three quarters within 56.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
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