Psychosis Early Intervention Across the Life Span: A Service Perspective.

Previously youth-orientated, UK early intervention in psychosis (EI) services expanded care in 2016 to adults of any age. To compare EI care offering, clinical characteristics, and potential benefits for under-35s and over-35s, an observational study considering anonymised data for users of London-based EI services between April 2016 and December 2019 was conducted. Descriptive statistics and between groups comparisons are reported. The analysis considered 692 service users (32.5% over-35). Over-35s were more likely to be female, of poorer physical health, with severer problems at intake (Health of the Nation Outcome Scale, HoNOS). Under-35s had poorer appointment attendance, required increased use of inpatient facilities, and demonstrated greater risks to themselves and others. At discharge, HoNOS ratings indicated improvements for both groups. Over-35s constitute a considerable proportion of EI service-users, their care may involve less crisis management, more recovery-oriented intervention and physical health needs consideration. Care offering should reflect these needs.

Why we need to pursue both universal and targeted prevention to reduce the incidence of affective and psychotic disorders: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

The effectiveness of universal preventive approaches in reducing the incidence of affective/psychotic disorders is unclear. We therefore aimed to synthesise the available evidence from randomised controlled trials. For studies reporting change in prevalence, we simulated all possible scenarios for the proportion of individuals with the disorder at baseline and at follow-up to exclude them. We then combined these data with studies directly measuring incidence and conducted random effects meta-analysis with relative risk (RR) to estimate the incidence in the intervention group compared to the control group. Eighteen studies (k=21 samples) were included investigating the universal prevention of depression in 66,625 individuals. No studies were available investigating universal prevention on the incidence of bipolar/psychotic disorders. 63 % of simulated scenarios showed a significant preventive effect on reducing the incidence of depression (k=9 - 19, RR=0.75-0.94, 95 %CIs=0.55-0.87,0.93-1.15, p=0.007-0.246) but did not survive sensitivity analyses. There is some limited evidence for the effectiveness of universal interventions for reducing the incidence of depression but not for bipolar/psychotic disorders.

The Early Youth Engagement in first episode psychosis (EYE-2) study: pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial of implementation, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a team-based motivational engagement intervention to improve engagement.

BACKGROUND: Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) services improve health outcomes for young people with psychosis in the medium-long term, but 25% of young people disengage in the first 12 months with costs to their mental health, families, society and the NHS. This study will evaluate the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and implementation of a team-based motivational Early Youth Engagement (EYE-2) intervention. METHOD: The study design is a cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) with economic evaluation, comparing the EYE-2 intervention + standardised EIP service to standardised EIP service alone, with randomisation at the team level. A process evaluation will evaluate the delivery of the intervention qualitatively and quantitatively across contexts. The setting is 20 EIP teams in 5 sites: Manchester, South London, East Anglia, Thames Valley and Hampshire. Participants are young people (14-35 years) with first episode psychosis, and EIP staff. The intervention is the team-based motivational engagement (EYE-2) intervention, delivered alongside standardised EIP services, and supported by additional training, website, booklets and social groups. The comparator is the standardised EIP service. Both interventions are delivered by EIP clinicians. The primary outcome is time to disengagement (time in days from date of allocation to care coordinator to date of last contact following refusal to engage with EIP service, or lack of response to EIP contact for a consecutive 3-month period). Secondary outcomes include mental and physical health, deaths, social and occupational function, recovery, satisfaction and service use at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months. A 12-month within-trial economic evaluation will investigate cost-effectiveness from a societal perspective and from an NHS perspective. DISCUSSION: The trial will provide the first test of an engagement intervention in standardised care, with the potential for significant impact on the mental health and wellbeing of young people and their families, and economic benefits for services. The intervention will be highly scalable, supported by the toolkit including manuals, commissioning guide, training and resources, adapted to meet the needs of the diverse EIP population, and based on an in-depth process evaluation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN 51629746 prospectively registered 7th May 2019. Date assigned 10th May 2019.

Outreach and support in South-London (OASIS) 2001-2020: Twenty years of early detection, prognosis and preventive care for young people at risk of psychosis.

This study aims to describe twenty years of early detection, prognosis and preventive care in the Outreach and Support In South-London (OASIS) mental health service for individuals at Clinical High risk of psychosis (CHR-P). The study presents a comprehensive analysis of the 2001- 2020 activity of the OASIS team encompassing core domains: (i) service characteristics, (ii) detection, (iii) prognosis, (iv) treatment and (v) clinical research. The analyses employed descriptive statistics, population-level data, the epidemiological incidence of psychosis, Kaplan Meier failure functions and Greenwood 95% CIs and Electronic Health Records. OASIS is part of the South London and Maudsley (SLaM) NHS trust, the largest European mental health provider, serving a total urban population of 1,358,646 individuals (population aged 16-35: 454,525). Incidence of psychosis in OASIS's catchment area ranges from 58.3 to 71.9 cases per 100,000 person-years, and it is higher than the national average of 41.5 cases per 100,000 person-year. OASIS is a standalone, NHS-funded, multidisciplinary (team leader, consultant and junior psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, mental health professionals), transitional (for those aged 14-35 years) community mental health service with a yearly caseload of 140 CHR-P individuals. OASIS regularly delivers a comprehensive service promotion outreach to several local community organisations. Referrals to OASIS (2366) are made by numerous agencies; about one-third of the referrals eventually met CHR-P criteria. Overall, 600 CHR-P individuals (55.33% males, mean age 22.63 years, white ethnicity 46.44%) have been under the care of the OASIS service: 80.43% met attenuated psychotic symptoms, 18.06% brief and limited intermittent psychotic symptoms and 1.51% genetic risk and deterioration CHR-P criteria. All CHR-P individuals were offered cognitive behavioural therapy and psychosocial support; medications were used depending on individual needs. The cumulative risk of psychosis at ten years was 0.365 (95%CI 0.302-0.437). At six years follow-up, across two-third of individuals non-transitioning to psychosis, 79.24% still displayed some mental health problem, and only 20.75% achieved a complete clinical remission. Research conducted at OASIS encompassed clinical, prognostic, neurobiological and interventional studies and leveraged local, national and international infrastructures; over the past ten years, OASIS-related research attracted about £ 50 million of grant income, with 5,922 citations in the international databases. Future developments may include broadening OASIS to prevent other serious mental disorders beyond psychosis and fostering translational risk prediction and interventional research. With a twenty-years activity, OASIS' cutting-edge quality of preventive care, combined with translational research innovations, consolidated the service as a leading reference model for evidence-based prevention of psychosis worldwide.

Balancing ACT: evaluating the effectiveness of psychoeducation and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) groups for people with bipolar disorder: study protocol for pilot randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Bipolar disorder is a chronic and disabling psychiatric condition, characterised by recurrent episodes of mania, hypomania and depression. It places a heavy burden on sufferers and families, with high societal and healthcare costs. Many service users with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder also experience prominent psychotic symptoms, with differential diagnoses of schizoaffective disorder, and relapses characterised by repeated manic psychotic episodes and grandiosity. Such presentations require specific adaptations to standard bipolar disorder interventions in order to address their psychosis, alongside mood regulation, with a particular emphasis on impulsivity, irritability, disinhibition and elation. The Balancing ACT study aims to evaluate an innovative group intervention combining Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and psychoeducation approaches (ACT/PE) with individuals experiencing bipolar disorder and/or symptoms within community psychosis services. METHODS: The Balancing ACT study is a randomised controlled trial comparing Balancing ACT groups (ACT/PE) plus routine care to routine care alone. Balancing ACT (ACT/PE) comprises ten group sessions, each lasting 2 hours, delivered weekly. The primary outcome is psychological wellbeing; secondary outcomes are mental health relapses (measured by service use averages for the 12 months pre baseline and 3 months post baseline). We will also measure mood, distress, recovery and psychological change processes. Participants will be randomised in a 1:1 ratio, after baseline assessment. Outcomes will be assessed by trained assessors blind to treatment condition at 0, 10 and 14 weeks. Recruitment began in April 2017 and is on-going until the end of October 2017. DISCUSSION: The Balancing ACT study will contribute to the currently limited evidence base for psychological interventions for people experiencing bipolar disorder and/or symptoms in the context of community psychosis services. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN73327972 . Registered on 27 March 2017. Balancing ACT: evaluating the effectiveness of psychoeducation and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) groups for people with bipolar disorder.