Specialized Treatment Early in Psychosis (STEP)

The purpose of this study is to understand the effectiveness of a specialized package of phase-specific treatments for individuals in the midst of their first episode of psychosis. The pharmacologic and psychosocial treatments will be delivered within a state public mental health center.

We propose to conduct a clinical trial for first episode psychosis patients not eligible for CMHC services that will compare randomized access to care at CMHC versus the usual procedure of referral to community providers outside CMHC. Patients randomized to access to CMHC services will receive multifaceted, intensive, phase-specific care delivered by a specialized clinical team. This care will include five principal components: antipsychotic prescription, multi-family group therapy, group cognitive behavioral therapy, cognitive remediation and individual case management including supportive, problem solving approaches and a focus on resumption of movement towards educational and/or employment related goals. All consenting subjects will undergo research evaluations every six months for up to five years. Outcomes will be assessed in the domains of re-admission (primary outcome), relapse, symptoms, overall functioning, quality of life, education and employment, treatment satisfaction, adherence, substance use, adverse events (including self-harm) and economic measures including service use, cost of care and forensic data.