This monograph describes how an SOC approach, coupled with specialized early psychosis intervention, can create a sustainable infrastructure, significantly decrease the duration of untreated psychosis, and improve service delivery and outcomes for youth and young adults with early signs of psychosis. [This product was made possible, in part, with…

Schizophrenia is a leading cause of disability and health expenditure worldwide and is associated with homelessness, substance use, familial and social isolation, unemployment, involvement with the criminal justice system, stigma, and excess mortality. Prevention may be feasible through intervention with help-seeking "clinical high-risk"…

This article examines problems in the clinical utility of the diagnosis of schizophrenia including reliance on questionable data, arbitrary criteria and categorization, inadequate precision for assessment and treatment evaluation, and omission of information on causal current and historical environmental factors. Some alternatives to the…

Diagnosing psychotic disorders in young people is difficult. High rates of co-morbidity may be one reason for this difficulty, but it may also be the case that current diagnostic categories are not the most useful when approaching the care of young people with psychotic symptoms. The Northern Ireland Early Onset Psychosis Study is the first study…

Since the early 1990s, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been increasingly used as an adjunctive treatment for psychotic disorders. This paper describes the CBT of three cases, each at a different stage of psychotic disorder: at-risk mental state, first-episode psychosis, and chronic psychotic disorder. For the at-risk mental state, treatment…

There are many ways to help children with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) succeed in school. Behavior intervention plans provide support to help students adjust their actions to fit school norms. Inclusive philosophy and practices continue to break the cycle of restricted and segregated placements, whereas schoolwide intervention models…

Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders are associated with high degrees of impairment and often respond inadequately to pharmacotherapy alone. In recent years, numerous clinical trials have been published showing the benefits of adjunctive cognitive behavior therapy for treating psychosis. However, research in this area has been hampered by…

The use of neuroleptic medicine in the treatment of schizophrenia is often predicated on the goal of eliminating psychotic symptoms. Use of neuroleptics, however, may produce unfortunate side effects. A case is presented which illustrates the time-limited use of neuroleptics. (JN)

This paper presents Peter, an 11-year-old boy, with brief self-limited hallucinations and persecutory ideation (if not frank delusions) on a background of a gradual deterioration in overall functioning. Affective symptoms are not prominent, and there is little to suggest an organic contribution. This raises the possibility that he has, or is on…

The belief that schizophrenia is a brain disease is the consensus among families of persons with mental illness and is supported by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. This article summarizes implications for psychologists from the following standpoints: (1) etiology; (2) vulnerability; (3) treatment; (4) rehabilitation; (5) assessment;…

Refugee movements impose tremendous psychological and physical trauma on survivors, making refugees a high risk group for psychopathology and psychosocial adjustment problems. This paper explores the traditional impediments to developing prevention programs for refugees and describes public mental health strategies that could be used for different…