Preventing relapse in psychotic illness: A psychological approach to early intervention

Abstract

Prevention of relapse is of prime importance in psychotic illness. Prodrome studies suggest that early warning signs of relapse can be reliably identified in the majority of cases. Intervention studies have so far focused mainly on medication. However, people with psychotic illness often develop effective coping strategies, and Coping Strategy Enhancement is proving a useful form of intervention for residual symptoms. It is suggested that enhancing coping strategies may offer an appropriate foundation for a psychological approach to early intervention, and that such an approach may benefit clients by increasing perceived control and self-efficacy, and reducing depression. This paper describes an eight-week group intervention designed to help participants identify early signs of relapse and develop coping strategies which could be applied when early signs emerge. The results suggest a modest degree of success in enhancing perceived control and coping. Feedback from participants indicated that the intervention was seen as acceptable and helpful. Issues relating to the clinical application of early signs monitoring are discussed and future directions for this approach to intervention are outlined.