Development of psycho-spiritual meaning intervention on depression and suicide ideation among young adults: A pilot study

Pages:174-177
Silvi Jose and Julom Angelina (The Graduate School, University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines)

Suicide is a public health problem and the second leading cause of death among adolescents and youth. There are 800,000 people die every year. Most of the young who commit suicide have a history of psychological problems of mood disorder, substance abuse or dependence. Many contributing factors for depression and suicide among young adults are personal problems, relationship issues, the stress in the workplace and academic fields, family concerns, inability to find meaning and purpose of life and the daily stress and hassles of life. The purpose of this study was to develop an adjunct therapeutic intervention for young adults having depression and suicide ideation and to pilot test its feasibility. The researcher developed a psycho-spiritual meaning intervention integrating theories of cognitive, mindfulness and meaning management and coined a name as “LeHo-FiHo”, an acronym for leaving home to find home an inward journey of transformation and renewal. The intervention was subjected to expert validation and pilot testing with ten young adults with moderate to severe depression and suicide ideation. the result of the study shows a significant decrease in depression and suicide ideation among the young adults