Is early intervention for psychosis a waste of valuable resources?

The concept of early intervention for psychosis has received much attention in recent years. The experience of pioneer services in the USA and Australia has convinced the UK Government to set aside millions of pounds to make dedicated early intervention teams an integral part of standard mental heal...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBritish journal of psychiatry Vol. 182; no. 3; pp. 196 - 198
Main Authors Pelosi, Anthony J., Birchwood, Max
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.03.2003
Subjects
Adolescent
Chronic illnesses
Commitment of Mentally Ill
Community mental health services
Community service
Disability
Early intervention
Health Care Rationing
Health services
Humans
Illnesses
In Debate
Mental disorders
Mental health care
Mental health services
Mental Health Services - organization & administration
Mental Health Services - standards
Patient Satisfaction
Psychiatry
Psychosis
Psychosocial factors
Psychotherapy
Psychotic Disorders - therapy
Psychotic symptoms
Schizophrenia
Teams
Time Factors
Treatment Outcome
United Kingdom
United Kingdom > UK
United States > US
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Summary:The concept of early intervention for psychosis has received much attention in recent years. The experience of pioneer services in the USA and Australia has convinced the UK Government to set aside millions of pounds to make dedicated early intervention teams an integral part of standard mental health services across the country. Other governments are set to follow suit. The rationale for early intervention is that there is a higher success rate if psychotic symptoms are treated early than if they are treated after they have been present for some time. It is also claimed that interventions early in the course of the illness can decrease the psychosocial impact of a psychotic illness that leads to secondary disability. But have these assertions been empirically demonstrated? Do such services simply take valuable resources, both in terms of funding and staff, from an already-overstretched mental health system, or do they change the trajectory of the disease process in a fundamental way? Dr Max Birchwood, Director of the Birmingham Early Intervention Service, and Dr Anthony Pelosi, consultant psychiatrist with a ‘generic’ community service in East Kilbride, Scotland, debate this issue.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
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ISSN:0007-1250
1472-1465
DOI:10.1192/bjp.182.3.196