Providing care to young people with emerging risk of psychosis: Balancing potential risks and benefits

Abstract

Early detection and treatment of those demonstrating emerging risk of developing a psychotic disorder has the potential to considerably ameliorate the negative psychological and social consequences of these serious mental illnesses or, possibly, even prevent their development. Psychosis does not usually suddenly appear in people who have been perfectly well, although conversely it is now known that isolated psychotic-like symptoms are relatively common in nonhelp-seeking people, particularly children and adolescents. Over the last two decades, clinical and epidemiological studies have enabled the characterization of a persistent subthreshold or prepsychotic clinical stage of illness in which..