Early intervention in psychosis: client and carer perspectives

AIM: To evaluate service users' and carers' views on the early intervention in psychosis service in relation to best-practice guidelines. METHOD: Both groups were sent a questionnaire on their experiences of care provided. RESULTS: The majority responded positively to many items, indicating they thought the team met best-practice guidance. Areas where guidelines were most closely adhered to were: helpfulness of initial contact for carers; service users' improved understanding of problems and ability to cope with difficulties; and satisfaction with amount and location of contact among both groups. Areas for further improvement included: promoting awareness and access to early intervention services; service-user involvement with care plans and promoting optimism for carers. CONCLUSION: Raising awareness, early detection of psychosis and accessing help quickly remain the greatest challenges. Establishing a health promotion strategy in all early intervention teams is crucial. Further training may be necessary for [...]