Improving the community’s mental health literacy as a means of facilitating early intervention

Abstract

Role of mental health literacy in pathways to care There can be long delays between the initial appearance of psychotic symptoms and the initiation of appropriate treatment (Marshall et al., 2005). This duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) causes unnecessary suffering in both the patient and family and has consequences for the maintenance of social networks and for the achievement of educational and occupational goals (Harris et al., 2005). Some have argued that earlier treatment may also improve long-term prognosis, but this remains to be firmly established (Marshall et al., 2005). Whether or not early intervention affects prognosis, there are clear reasons for trying to reduce DUP. A numb..