Diagnosis and the staging model of psychosis

Abstract

Introduction Just as with any medical or psychiatric condition, the primary aim of making a diagnosis of psychotic illness is to ensure that the person with the condition is treated with the most appropriate evidence-based intervention. Yet, researchers and clinicians within the psychosis field can claim to have advanced this aim further than in other psychiatric domains by implementing the early diagnosis strategy developed in the mainstream healthcare field for disorders such as cancer, stroke and diabetes. The intention here is to improve prognosis by reducing mortality and preventing progression or worsening of the disorder and to minimize the distress, morbidity, comorbidity, disability..