An interventional study of BEAR-SI in Interpersonal Trauma, Depression and PTSD, sponsored by Stanford University. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to female participants aged 18 Years to 75 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-02-20.
Sponsored by Stanford University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
The current study aims to test the feasibility of a new form of group therapy for women who have a history of interpersonal trauma and current suicidal ideation. The Building Empowerment and Resilience (BEAR) Therapeutic group has been adapted for women who have experienced trauma and have current suicidal ideation. It incorporates psychological skills, psychoeducation about trauma and gender-based violence, and physical self-defense training, all within a therapeutic process. It will be implemented with women who have experienced interpersonal trauma (physical, sexual, or emotional abuse/neglect) and experience various mental health difficulties, including suicidal ideation. We aim to assess the feasibility to recruit and implement the BEAR group. Our ultimate aim is to assess whether the program can effect self-efficacy and suicidal ideation.
In the US, approximately 36% of women experience some type of sexual violence in their lifetime. Sexual violence can have a significant and lifelong impact on a women's life, with particularly high rates of mental health issues (e.g., depression, anxiety, PTSD). Women who are sexually assaulted have a three-fold risk of lifetime suicidal ideation and more than a five-fold elevated risk of suicide attempts compared to women who have not been sexually assaulted. Women who are victimized are at higher risk of subsequent sexual victimizations, and with that, worsened well-being and an even higher suicide risk.
Empowerment self-defense (ESD) training has consistently been shown to reduce the risk of both attempted and completed sexual assault by approximately 50%. Survivors of rape who participate in such training demonstrate decreases in PTSD symptoms and self-blame for past assaults. Increases in perceived self-efficacy is one of the positive outcomes of ESD work. Perceived self-efficacy is one's beliefs about their competency and capabilities to perform and is a key factor of how people think, behave, feel, and motivate themselves and how they respond in various situations, including risky or traumatic situations. Higher coping self-efficacy buffers individuals who experience trauma from posttraumatic distress, and separately, higher self-efficacy has been shown to be a protective factor against suicidality in several populations.
The purpose of the current study is to test the feasibility of the Building Empowerment and Resilience (BEAR) program which was adapted for women who have a history of sexual violence and currently endorse suicidal thinking. The Building Empowerment and Resilience-SI (BEAR-SI) Therapeutic program incorporates psychological skills, psychoeducation, and physical self-defense training, all within a therapeutic process. Our experience indicates survivors of sexual violence seek a more active intervention as they often continue to feel quite vulnerable with therapy alone. The program specifically addresses the sequalae of sexual assault and teaches skills for maintaining personal safety and for coping with unwanted thoughts, including suicidal thinking. Our goal is to determine the feasibility of the adapted BEAR program and if it enhances self-efficacy and decreases suicidal thoughts. This is a 12-week, in-person therapy group. We will examine pre- and post-group outcomes, as well as 3- and 12-month follow up.
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Exclusion Criteria:
BEAR therapy intervention
Behavioral: BEAR-SI
The BEAR Therapeutic program is a twelve-week group that meets once per week for 1.5 hours per week. The program includes three main components. The first is a psycho-educational component which provides current information about assault statistics, common risk factors, myths that are often associated assault, and safety related information The second component focuses on the development of an assortment of interpersonal skills. This part of the group offers skills such as assertiveness or communication training, boundary setting, and coping skills. The third component of our intervention consists of a thorough set of self-defense skills that help women to keep themselves safe. The repertoire of skills include recognizing unsafe situations, utilizing one's voice, and release from holds. This section provides ample practice blocks, resistance skills, and specific techniques to keep one's self safe.
Coping self-efficacy
This scale ranges from 0-286, with 0 indicating no confidence in managing stressors to 286 indicating very high level of confidence that one could do a particular behavior
Time frame: Baseline to 12 weeks (post-group)
Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation
Assesses amount of suicidal thinking. The total BSS score can range from 0, with no suicidal thinking to 38 points, severe level of suicidal thinking.
Time frame: Baseline to 12 weeks (post-group)
Retention in the group
Will examine number of participants who completed at least 10/12 sessions
Time frame: 12 weeks (post-group)
Plan to share: No — This is a pilot study to determine the feasibility of this group. We will be collecting both qualitative and quantitative data on a small group of participants.
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