Dissertation on Early Intervention Programme for Patients with First-Episode Schizophrenia-Spectrum Psychosis
Early diagnosis of disorders and targeted multiprofessional treatment are of increasing importance in mental health care. The treatment of the first-episode schizophrenia-spectrum psychosis is essential for further development and course of the disease and for the prognosis of the disease outcome.
The first-episode schizophrenia-spectrum psychosis is most common in young people under 25. This is the age at which intense professional, social, and romantic personality fulfilment takes place. Successful treatment of first-episode psychosis can lead to patients being able to their usual routine quicker and to a higher quality of life. In psychiatry, multiprofessional teamwork, focused on meeting patients’ individual needs, is essential.
Early intervention programmes, which are essentially person-centred, highly disorder-specific, intensive treatment, have been successfully developed worldwide. In Latvia, this is the first Early Intervention Programme developed for patients with first-episode schizophrenia-spectrum psychosis. In the practical part of the doctoral thesis, an Early Intervention Programme was developed that was adapted to the mental health care system in Latvia. During the implementation of the Early Intervention Programme in practice at Daugavpils Psychoneurological Hospital, it was concluded that the Early Intervention Programme is a more effective treatment method for patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders in achieving remission after 12 months than standard treatment. Patients who received treatment in the Early Intervention Programme were less likely to be re-hospitalised and less likely to have a disability related to their psychotic disorder.
The Early Intervention Programme, which was developed and tested during the research, is the basis for planning and implementing new initiatives in mental health care in Latvia. The programme can be used to implement a new evidence-based treatment approach for patients with psychotic disorders, adapted to Latvian conditions, thus expanding the range of services provided in mental health care and ensuring modern, patient-centred, multiprofessional treatment.
Liene Sīle defended her doctoral thesis ‘Adaptation and Assessment of Efficacy of Early Intervention Programme for Patients with Schizophrenia Spektrum First-Episode Psychosis in Latgale region’ took place on 6 June 2022.
Further information
Promocijas darba vadītājs: RSU prof. Elmārs Rancāns.
