06/01/2026
Is it a big deal if a new therapy is able to resolve suicidal thoughts rapidly - sometimes in as few as 1–3 sessions?
I'm not talking about simply managing symptoms or putting a band-aid on the problem. I'm talking about a process that seeks to identify and address the underlying emotional wounds driving the distress, so that individuals no longer feel trapped by suicidal thoughts and can begin exploring the deeper factors that contributed to them in the first place.
I was having a conversation with some friends last week, when I casually mentioned that I have been able to help individuals experiencing suicidal ideation in about 1-3 individual sessions of energy-Based Psychotherapy. Their reaction surprised me. They viewed this as something extraordinary!! I guess I have been so focused on helping people with anxiety, burnout, and deep trauma that I had almost overlooked what was right in front of me.
After the call, I felt prompted to review years of client notes, looking for every time a client came in with suicidal ideation. I found a consistent pattern in both the presentation of suicidal ideation and the therapeutic process that appeared to produce rapid improvement. There was a clear pattern - not once, not twice but again and again.
What struck me most was that, in many cases, clients experiencing suicidal thoughts were deeply connected to the emotional pain driving their distress. Once those underlying wounds were identified and processed, meaningful change often followed.
As this information is taken from case studies, it is anecdotal and therefore needs to be investigated properly. What would it take to study and scale an approach that appears capable of reducing suicidal ideation in individuals within just a few sessions?
I'm increasingly convinced that these outcomes deserve rigorous research. If you're involved in mental health, philanthropy, academic research, program evaluation, or su***de prevention, I'd welcome a conversation about partnerships, pilot programs, funding opportunities, or research collaborations that could help evaluate this work and determine where it might fit within the broader mental health landscape.