A Treatment Engagement Protocol for Psychiatrically Hospitalized Adolescents at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis

Many individuals who develop psychotic disorders report having experienced subthreshold psychosis (i.e., clinical high risk-CHR- symptoms) in adolescence, prior to full-threshold symptoms. The emergence of symptoms during this critical stage of maturation can cause a great deal of distress and disruption, oftentimes leading to long-term illness and functional impairment. Evidence supporting the benefits of psychosocial treatment, particularly family-oriented team-based approaches, for young people in the early stages of psychosis has inspired ongoing efforts to identify symptoms as early as possible. Identification and service engagement can facilitate risk monitoring, and early treatment (for psychosis and/or co-occurring concerns) maximizes recovery and minimizes the negative sequelae of illness. Given that many CHR youth seek help for a variety of mental health concerns prior to the emergence of full psychosis, often through emergency services, and many do not disclose psychosis-spectrum symptoms spontaneously, targeted CHR assessment and intervention within a general psychiatric population is important.

The purpose of this study is to identify psychiatrically hospitalized teens who present with new onset CHR symptoms and pilot, via a randomized trial, a brief intervention to enhance outpatient treatment engagement post-hospitalization. The intervention will directly target three mechanisms linked to service use: mental health literacy, attitudes toward treatment, and family partnership (i.e. family involvement and co-engagement in treatment). In the experimental group, teens and caregivers will participate in a brief intervention informed by existing evidence-based treatment protocols. The proposed intervention will include three modules: 1) assessment of psychosis-risk symptoms and treatment attitudes and barriers, 2) an evidence-based psychoeducation module designed for young people with psychosis-risk syndromes and their families, and 3) an empirically-supported motivational enhancement protocol developed for teens and parents to increase outpatient service use after hospital discharge.

The investigators will first pilot the intervention with parent-teen dyads (n = 20-30) using an iterative approach to refine the content and delivery. To inform intervention development, post-intervention session evaluations and qualitative exit interviews will be used to explore attitudes and opinions regarding intervention content and delivery. After this development phase, the investigators will conduct a randomized open trial comparing treatment-as-usual (TAU) to TAU + the experimental intervention (n = 80 dyads). TAU includes standard care modules (psychoeducation, coping, safety planning, problem solving, healthy lifestyle) administered to the teen. All teens, as part of TAU, also receive skills groups, individual treatment, and family planning meetings. Additionally, all enrolled families (experimental and TAU) will receive a referral to an outpatient provider for psychosocial treatment (standard care procedure) plus referral to specialized CHR case management services. Case management, if elected, will be provided through the local coordinated specialty care (CSC) psychosis-risk clinic, which offers empirically-supported team-based services including case monitoring, consultation to outside providers, and group and family treatment. Primary outcomes, measured at 1- and 3-month follow-ups, include the engagement of the purported therapeutic mechanisms (i.e. mental health literacy, attitudes toward treatment, family partnership). Secondary outcomes include outpatient service use and rates of enrollment in CSC case management services across groups.