At-risk mental state: management

Abstract

Introduction The potential benefits of providing effective treatment for young people at ultra-high risk (UHR) of developing a psychotic disorder have been recognized for some time. Early last century, Harry Stack Sullivan (1927) speculated that a full-blown psychotic illness might be preventable if it were possible to identify high-risk individuals during the early-onset phase of illness (known as the prodrome) and to provide them with appropriate and effective treatment. Even if it were not completely possible to prevent the development of a psychotic episode, it was thought that such early intervention might minimize the impact that the episode has on functioning, as the development of di..