A service evaluation study of the impact of ageless policy in a London inner-city early intervention in psychosis service.

BACKGROUND: Schizophreniform disorders tend to have an early onset. Early intervention in psychosis (EIP) services aim to provide early treatment, reduce long-term morbidity and improve social functioning. In 2016, changes to mental health policy in England mandated that the primarily youth-focused model should be extended to an ageless one, to prevent ageism; however, this was without strong research evidence. AIMS AND METHOD: An inner-city London EIP service compared sociodemographic and clinical factors between the under-35 years and over-35 years caseload cohorts utilising the EIP package following the implementation of the ageless policy. RESULTS: Both groups received similar care, despite the younger group having significantly more clinical morbidity and needs. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Our results may indicate that service provisions are being driven by policy rather than clinical needs, potentially diverting resources from younger patients. These findings have important implications for future provision of EIP services and would benefit from further exploration.

Dissociation and recovery in psychosis - an overview of the literature.

Background: The relationship between dissociation and recovery from psychosis is a new topic, which could attract the interest of the researchers in the field of dissociation due to its relevance to their daily clinical practice. This review brings together a diversity of international research and theoretical views on the phenomenology of dissociation, psychosis and recovery and provides a synthesis by narrative and tabulation of the existing knowledge related to these concepts. Aims: The objective was to make a synthesis by narrative and tabulation about what is known on the topic. Methods: The systematic search was conducted according to the PRISMA-statement in the databases Medline, PsycInfo, PubMed and Google Scholar. 2110 articles were selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria detailed in the methods, and 19 records were included in the review. Outcomes: None of the included publications put together, in the same conceptualisation or hypothesis, dissociation and the recovery from an episode of psychosis, therefore this matter remains unstudied at this time. Conclusion: The process of reviewing the existing scientific literature in the field of dissociation and recovery from psychosis has been very useful for charting the direction that future research will take.