The Nia Project has established two major research programs, and is currently developing a suicide prevention app called Relieflink. Learn more about these projects and whether or not you may be eligible for participation!
Nia Domestic Violence and Suicide Prevention Program
The Domestic Violence and Suicide Prevention clinical-research project, a component of the overall Nia Project, compares a 10 session empowerment based, culturally-informed, group intervention versus treatment as usual for African American women who have made a suicide attempt and experienced intimate partner violence in the past year. This 10 session evidence-based intervention is aimed at helping women feel more positive about themselves, become more able to cope with stresses in their lives, feel more connected to other people and their communities, live more violence-free lives and find a renewed sense of hope and purpose.
If the following is true for you, you may qualify for this clinical-research project.
- Self-identify as an African American women
- Are between the ages of 18-64
- Have attempted suicide in the past year
- Have been in a physically, sexually or emotionally abusive relationship with a partner in the past year
Individuals will be screened to determine if they are eligible for the project. If they are, they will participate in five in-depth interviews over the course of a year. They also will be randomly assigned (like a coin toss) to either the 10 session empowerment group or to the other Nia groups.
For more information on the Nia Project’s Domestic Violence and Suicide clinical-research project, please call 404-616-2132.
Compassion and Meditation Project Plus Relieflink
The Compassion and Meditation Project (CAMP) clinical-research project, a component of the overall Nia Project, consists of two, six-session cognitive based compassion training (CBCT®) groups for African American women and men who have made a suicide attempt in the past year. CBCT® is a meditation-based method designed to train people to cultivate compassion for themselves and for others. CBCT® has been shown through recent research, to lead to increased resilience to stress, improved empathy, decreased depression and increased hopefulness.
This six-session evidence-based intervention is aimed at helping Nia Project participants feel more positive about themselves, become more able to cope with stresses in their lives, feel more connected to other people and their communities, live more violence-free lives and find a renewed sense of hope and purpose. In addition, for one of the two groups, a mobile app designed to help practice coping skills and other tools for suicide prevention, is used each week to facilitate continued skills building as connection to resources in between group sessions. Progress of participants in the two groups will be compared to understand how mobile apps might add value to these types of interventions.
If the following is true for you, you may qualify for this clinical-research project.
- Self-identify as African American
- Are between the ages of 18-64
- Have attempted suicide in the past year
Individuals will be screened to determine if they are eligible for the project. If they are, they will participate in three in-depth interviews over the course of a year. People who qualify for the study will be randomly assigned to one of the two intervention groups.
For more information about the Compassion and Meditation Project (CAMP) or the Relieflink App, you may call us at 404-616-2132.