Psychosis typically emerges in late adolescence or early adulthood, which is a vital stage in social and cognitive development, and can therefore have a profoundly adverse impact on an individual's long-term functioning. The onset of psychosis is preceded by a clinical high risk (CHR) phase characterized by attenuated psychotic symptoms and functional decline. CHR programs have enormous potential to reduce the long-term severity of the illness, and the suffering and cost associated with it. Youth at CHR also typically have environmental and individual-level barriers to accessing and engaging in services, including stigma, a dearth of trained providers, clinic location and transportation issues, suspiciousness, and a tendency to socially isolate. Reducing some of these barriers via telehealth interventions may improve treatment accessibility and engagement, thereby improving clinical outcomes. There is a substantial need to evaluate different CHR interventions to determine which are most effective. There is also a significant need to systematically investigate remote delivery methods as a way of increasing access to critical services for CHR. The research team have established Group and Family-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (GF-CBT) program in order to facilitate psychosocial recovery, decrease symptoms, and prevent or delay transition to psychosis in youth at CHR. GF-CBT is grounded in sociocultural ecological systems theory, psychosocial resilience models, and research on information processing in delusions. GF-CBT has been implemented as part of SAMHSA funded CHR services in New York, Missouri, and Delaware. The research team have also established Family-Based CBT (F-CBT), in which youth and families learn CBT skills as a family unit, rather than in groups. The research team have adapted GF-CBT, F-CBT and individual CBT for telehealth delivery (GF-CBT-TH, F-CBT-TH and I-CBT-TH). This study will investigate the feasibility of implementing these telehealth interventions in the context of routine CHR services, evaluate the impact of the interventions on engaging target mechanisms hypothesized to underlie their effects, and conduct a preliminary evaluation of their comparative efficacy. Subjects between the ages of 14 and 25 who meet CHR criteria on the SIPS (n=72) and their families will be randomly assigned to receive GF-CBT-TH, F-CBT-TH or I-CBT-TH for a period of 15 weeks. Data will be collected at baseline, post-treatment, and 3-month follow-up. Feasibility will be measured by recruitment rate, attendance, and retention. The following intervention targets will be assessed: cognitive biases, social connectedness, family emotional climate, and family members' proficiency in CBT skills. The three groups will be compared across the following domains: psychosocial functioning, symptom severity, rates of remission from CHR, and rates of transition to psychosis. The research team will also explore whether patient treatment preference, family emotional climate and sociodemographic factors differentially moderate treatment outcomes. Qualitative interviews will be conducted with patients, families, and clinicians to inform dissemination and make adaptations to the implementation manuals.
