Individualized vocational and educational support and training for youth at clinical high risk for psychosis

Early intervention for psychosis has been of high interest in the past two decades. Research demonstrates that clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR-p) populations experience impairments in role functioning. Although several vocational and cognitive interventions exist for people living with psychosis, there are no known evidence-based treatments for role functioning difficulties during the CHR-p stage. There is clear evidence for a need for interventions that directly target role functioning.

This paper describes the theoretical development and implementation of a novel intervention targeting role functioning impairments: Individualized Vocational and Educational Support and Training (InVEST). The CEDAR Clinic, a specialized CHR-p coordinated specialty care (CSC) team, has worked to develop InVEST to target core aspects of role functioning, namely executive functioning, stress sensitivity, and task initiation. The intervention is cost-efficient, as bachelor level clinicians provide the service under supervision of licensed clinicians. This summary describes InVEST, provides a disguised case example, and presents initial exploratory data (N = 135) focused on the intervention's feasibility in this CSC program.

Although these preliminary data are limited, available information suggests that InVEST may provide a core treatment modality within CHR-p treatment programs.

More research formally investigating InVEST with a larger sample would provide further evidence of the intervention's efficacy.