Interventions in the Early Stages of Psychosis

Abstract

<p>In nearly all other areas of life, early intervention is seen as an intuitive and sensible way to limit damage and prevent greater problems requiring greater investment for future solutions. So common in our culture is this notion that we have the sayings, “A stitch in time saves nine” and “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” In most areas of medicine, early identification and intervention, if not prevention, are seen as the best approaches to disease states. Until relatively recently, psychiatry, particularly in relation to psychotic illnesses, stood alone in being dominated by a culture that dealt in the management of acute behavioral crises and the ultimate development of chronic illnesses. This approach was largely driven by a therapeutic nihilism that whole-heartedly incorporated neo-kraepelinian notions of schizophrenia as an illness of inevitable decline. </p> <h4>ABOUT THE AUTHORS</h4> <p>Eóin Killackey, DPsych, is with the Orygen Research Centre, Victoria, Australia, and the Department of Psychology, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Patrick D. McGorry, MD, is with the Orygen Research Centre, and the Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne. </p> <p>Address correspondence to: Eóin Killackey, DPsych, 35 Poplar Road, Parkville, 3052, Victoria, Australia; or e-mail <a href="mailto:eoin@unimelb.edu.au">eoin@unimelb.edu.au</a>. </p> <p>Dr. Killackey has disclosed the following relevant financial relationships: Janssen Cilag: Member of Speakers’ Bureau. Dr. McGorry has disclosed the following relevant financial relationships: Janssen Cilag: Grant Recipient.</p> <h4>EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES</h4> <ol><li>Explain the treatment approach recommended for people with first-episode psychosis. </li> <li>Discuss guidelines for medications utilized in first-episode psychosis. </li> <li>Describe psychological and psychosocial interventions for patients experiencing a first episode of psychosis. </li></ol>