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Recognition and Treatment of the Pre-psychotic Phase of Psychotic Disorders

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Early Intervention in Psychotic Disorders

Part of the book series: NATO Science Series ((ASID,volume 91))

Abstract

The treatment of psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, schizophreniform, and bipolar disorder had been viewed with pessimism until a shift in focus from established or chronic illness to earlier phases of illness around the onset highlighted opportunities for enhanced recovery. The early psychosis focus emerged from recognition that the underlying nature of the illnesses would be better studied in this phase of disorder (1). A welcome by-product has been the revival of interest in a realistic preventive treatment approach centering primarily on enhanced detection and treatment of first episode psychosis (2,3,4, 5). It has also been recognized that even prior to the onset of frank psychosis, during the prodromal phase, the changes underpinning the illness are already active although less obtrusively, and lead to substantial and progressive distress and disability (6). The major emphasis to date has been on limiting the psychosocial, and possibly biological (7), damage which flows from delays in treatment which occur even after the onset of frank psychotic symptoms (2, 8). However, to a significant extent, the horse may well have bolted by this stage. The bulk of the early phase psychosocial disability has generally emerged by the advent of the prepsychotic phase, and could therefore set a ceiling for recovery even when timely treatment of the first psychotic episode is ultimately available (6, 9,10). This suggests that the prepsychotic phase is the “critical period” (11) par excellence for intervention efforts.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pace Clinic and Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centre, University of Melbourne Department of Psychiatry, Locked Bag 10. Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia

    Patrick D. McGorry, Lisa J. Phillips & Alison R. Yung

Authors
  1. Patrick D. McGorry
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  2. Lisa J. Phillips
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  3. Alison R. Yung
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Tandy Miller  & Thomas H. McGlashan  & 

  2. Social Science Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Sarnoff A. Mednick

  3. Psychiatric Center Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

    Jan Libiger

  4. Rogaland Psychiatric Hospital, Stavanger, Norway

    Jan Olav Johannessen

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© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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McGorry, P.D., Phillips, L.J., Yung, A.R. (2001). Recognition and Treatment of the Pre-psychotic Phase of Psychotic Disorders. In: Miller, T., Mednick, S.A., McGlashan, T.H., Libiger, J., Johannessen, J.O. (eds) Early Intervention in Psychotic Disorders. NATO Science Series, vol 91. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0892-1_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0892-1_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-7923-6750-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-010-0892-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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