Prevention and early intervention in psychotic disorders

Abstract

Abstract This chapter considers treatment approaches in early psychosis and the possibility of prevention prior to the development of illness. The chapter first considers the various definitions of the pre-psychotic state, including prodrome, and the concept of clinical high-risk (CHR) groups. The CHR groups, including the ultra-high-risk (UHR) and basic symptoms (BS) groups aim to identify individuals at imminent risk of transitioning to full-blown psychosis. Further, the chapter summarizes the notion of a staging model for psychosis, which incorporates these earliest pre-psychosis stages, and considers the onset and progression of the illness to chronicity, with differing in..