EARLY DETECTION AND INTERVENTION FOR PSYCHOSIS: PERSPECTIVES FROM NORTH AMERICA

Clinicians and researchers in Canada and the United States have established a number of early intervention programs and research sites on the early course of psychosis and the prodromal period that commonly precedes psychotic disorders. In Canada, early detection and treatment programs for psychosis have been established in many areas of the country, and typically serve specific catchment areas. Canadian research on early psychosis is often built on to these clinical sites, and covers a broad array of topics including interventions during the prodromal stage of the illness, treatment-seeking behaviors, and development of optimal pharmacological and psychosocial treatment approaches for early psychosis. In the United States, clinical programs for early intervention in psychosis are often located at academic programs with ongoing research on the early course of psychotic disorders. Researchers from sites across the United States offer a plethora of information, including neuroimaging studies, research on treatment response, and the development of standardized rating scales and research instruments. Researchers from sites in both countries have formed a consortium to launch the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study, a multi-site collaboration to gain a better understanding of the prodromal period of the illness and prediction of conversion from the prodrome to psychosis.