Critical period and duration of untreated psychosis

Author/s
Yuliya Zaytseva
Citation
Issue 1 Summer 2011
CEPiP.2011.1.41-45
Abstract

The paradigm of early intervention in psychosis has been highly promoted due to the growing body of evidence from prospective studies and randomised controlled trials that the specific interventions in early phase of psychosis induce better clinical and functional outcomes. Thus, early intervention services have become an important area of the Community Mental Health development in recent years. The large number of clinical and research programmes focusing on early psychosis have now been established. Early intervention can be conceptualized as a series of preventive strategies, comprising three components, interconnected with each other: 1) early detection of emerging psychosis; 2) reducing delay in the initiation of treatment; 3) providing continuous intervention during the early phase of psychosis or so called critical period. The potential benefits of early intervention also include: reduced morbidity, more rapid recovery, better prognosis, preservation of social skills, family and social supports and decreased need for hospitalization. The aim of early intervention in first-episode psychosis is the shortening of the course and decreasing the severity of an initial psychotic episode, which by turn minimizes many complications following untreated psychosis.

Cite as: Cutting Edge Psychiatry in Practice 2011, 1(1):41-45; https://doi.org/10.65031/czfc2554

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