Psychosis-Spectrum Screening and Assessment within a College Counseling Center: A Pilot Study Exploring Feasibility and Clinical Need

ABSTRACT

Evidence supports the use of brief psychosis-spectrum screening tools for identifying individuals at an increased risk of developing a psychotic disorder. Screening has not been well studied in general mental health settings that serve young adults in the age range associated with highest risk for psychosis. This study explored the feasibility of psychosis-risk screening and assessment among help-seeking students at a university counseling center. The PRIME Screen-Revised was administered to students at clinic intake. Participants who screened positively were offered a follow-up assessment using the Structured Interview for Psychosis-risk Syndromes (SIPS). At intake, 510 students completed the PRIME Screen-Revised, with 132 (25.9%) screening positive. Comprehensive psychosis-spectrum evaluations were completed with 38 participants, and 22 met criteria for a psychosis-spectrum disorder, representing 57.9% of this subsample. Findings suggest that psychosis-risk screening in a college clinic is a promising approach to identifying those at high risk for or in the early stages of psychosis.

KEYWORDS:

• college counseling
• psychosis-risk screening
• clinical high risk
• early psychosis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Behavioral Health Administration through the Maryland Center of Excellence on Early Intervention Program (MEIP) [OPASS# 14-13717G/M00B4400241]. This work was also supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (K23 MH119211 awarded to the first author).