On Sunday, this article was posted on MSNBC. I read an article like this completely differently than I would have a few years ago. This idea that psychosis is a distinct phase in some illnesses like schizophrenia and manic-depression was news to me. And that mental illness is a progressive disease. I thought back then that crazy just meant crazy. (I don't know if it is true for schizophrenia, but Kramer in his book Against Depression, demonstrates that depression, untreated, deepens over time and becomes more frequent.)
I'm then very keen on what are the early warning signs that hint that psychosis is coming.
Then I look for the bottom line ... does the new treatment or program have proven results? In this case not yet, but the article gives anecdotal evidence that PIER is helpful.
Subtle, early signs Researchers have known about this warning phase [or prodrome] for decades, but they're still working on how to treat it. Now they're calling in tools like brain scans, DNA studies and hormone research to dig into its biology. They hope that will reveal new ways to detect who's on the road to psychosis and to stop that progression.In the prodrome, people can see and hear imaginary things or have odd thoughts. But significantly, they understand these experiences are just illusions, or they have a reasonable explanation. In contrast, people with psychosis firmly cling to unreasonable explanations instead.
PIER emphasizes non-drug therapies for its patients, ages 12 to 25, although about three-quarters of them take anti-psychotic medication.The treatment regimen includes group meetings in which patients and families brainstorm about handling the condition's day-to-day stresses. It also focuses on keeping patients in school and in touch with their families and social networks.
When it comes to treating the prodrome, scientists say they have some promising approaches but no firmly proven treatments to prevent psychosis from appearing.