Early Psychosis
What is Early Psychosis?
The term “psychosis” describes conditions that affect the mind, causing a loss of contact with reality or trouble deciding on what is real and what is not real. Psychosis is not a diagnosis, rather a cluster of symptoms which cause changes in an individual’s thoughts and perceptions making it difficult to recognize what is real and what is not. This may include symptoms such as hearing or seeing things other people do not experience, holding firmly held beliefs despite no supporting evidence, and/or changes in cognition, speech, and behavior.
Sometimes, and in some cultures, psychosis in and of itself is not a cause for concern. Other times, these experiences may cause significant disruption in an individual’s life and be distressing.
Visit the New Journeys Website to learn more and explore treatment options.
Why is Early Intervention Important?
For those with distressing symptoms, early intervention is critical. Approximately 56,000 adolescents and young adults (ages 15-29) and 58,000 adults (ages 30-59) in the United States experience first episodes of psychosis each year (Simon et al., 2017), most of whom first show symptoms between the ages of 15-25. For some people, these symptoms resolve on their own, or change into less distressing types of symptoms that people can successfully incorporate into their lives. Other times, their symptoms can derail their social, academic, and vocational development and initiate a trajectory of accumulating disability. Despite these challenges, early intervention offers real hope for improving outcomes for first episodes of psychosis, including schizophrenia spectrum disorders (Santesteban-Echarri et al., 2017).
Early intervention models like Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) typically include common elements such as cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy, family education and support, peer support, medication support, and case management. To learn more about New Journeys, our CSC program in Washington State, visit our website (Add button for New Journeys). This project is funded the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) in collaboration with HCA First Episode Psychosis Program and Policy Manager, Becky Daughtry. SPIRIT Center Co-Director Maria Monroe-DeVita leads the University of Washington’s Implementation Team, and Oladunni Oluwoye leads Washington State University’s Evaluation Team. The full project implementation team is listed on the New Journeys Website.
Fact Sheet for CSC for First Episode Psychosis
The History of Early Intervention in Washington State
In Federal Fiscal Year 2014, the U.S. Congress allocated additional funds to the Substance and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to support models like CSC to address first episode psychosis across the U.S. States were instructed by SAMHSA to utilize 5% (now 10%) of their Mental Health Block Grant (MHBG) allocation for services for individuals experiencing early serious mental illness (eSMI). Committed to serving state residents with eSMI with CSC services, the Washington State Health Care Authority has funded the implementation of twenty CSC programs, called New Journeys (Insert Hyperlink), which are based on the NAVIGATE model of CSC.
Maria Monroe-DeVita also directs the Washington State Center of Excellence in Early Psychosis (CEEP) to advance research, implementation, and training on early psychosis, in collaboration with other early psychosis researchers in the state.
References
Simon, GE, Coleman KJ, Yarborough BJH, et al: First presentation with psychotic symptoms in a population-based sample. Psychiatr Serv 2017; 68:456–461.
Santesteban-Echarri, O, Paino M, Rice S, et al: Predictors of functional recovery in first-episode psychosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Clin Psychol Rev 2017; 58:59–75.
