Reduction of suicidal ideation in patients undergoing psychotherapy in the day hospital for the treatment of neurotic and behavioral disorders and their neurotic personality traits measured before the hospitalization

Aim. Analysis of associations between initial neurotic personality traits and subsequent reduction of suicidal ideation (SI) – or lack of such reduction – obtained until the end of hospitalization in patients who underwent the course of intensive psychotherapy conducted in integrative approach with predominance of psychodynamic approach. Material and method. Symptom Checklist KO“O”, Neurotic Personality Questionnaire KON-2006 and Life Inventory completed by 461 women and 219 men hospitalized in the dayhospital due to neurotic, behavioral and personality disorders between 2005–2013. At the stage of qualification 134 women and 80 men reported SI, of whom subsequently 84.3% and 77.5% respectively improved. Results. Women with prominent Tendency to risk-taking (p=0.002) and Impulsiveness (p=0.038) constituted subgroups with decreased chances of improvement in terms of SI, while men with prominently elevated level of Envy (p=0.041) and women who seemed to have difficulties in expressing anger adequately (p<0.05) had increased chances of SI reduction. Conclusions. Initially prominent Tendency to risk-taking and Impulsiveness may coexist with SI of increased resistance to psychotherapy. Thus, those subgroups require special attention and diligent selection of therapeutic methods. Also, it is probable that focusing therapy at the above-mentioned personality components may increase effectiveness of SI treatment. Reducing SI during psychotherapy appears to be highly effective especially in women with difficulties in expressing anger adequately and in men with prominently elevated level of Envy, which suggests adequacy of this treatment choice and of targeting those difficulties during psychotherapy.