Review of factors resulting in systemic biases in the screening, assessment, and treatment of individuals at clinical high-risk for psychosis in the United States

BACKGROUND: Since its inception, research in the clinical high-risk (CHR) phase of psychosis has included identifying and exploring the impact of relevant socio-demographic factors. Employing a narrative review approach and highlighting work from the United States, sociocultural and contextual factors potentially affecting the screening, assessment, and service utilization of youth at CHR were reviewed from the current literature. RESULTS: Existing literature suggests that contextual factors impact the predictive performance of widely used psychosis-risk screening tools and may introduce systemic bias and challenges to differential diagnosis in clinical assessment. Factors reviewed include racialized identity, discrimination, neighborhood context, trauma, immigration status, gender identity, sexual orientation, and age. Furthermore, racialized identity and traumatic experiences appear related to symptom severity and service utilization among this population. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, a growing body of research from the United States and beyond suggests that considering context in psychosis-risk assessment can provide a more accurate appraisal of the nature of risk for psychosis, render more accurate results improving the field\u27s prediction of conversion to psychosis, and enhance our understanding of psychosis-risk trajectories. More work is needed in the U.S. and across the globe to uncover how structural racism and systemic biases impact screening, assessment, treatment, and clinical and functional outcomes for those at CHR

Race Moderates the Relation between Internalized Stigma and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors in Youth with Psychosis-Risk Syndromes and Early Psychosis.

Suicide is a leading cause of death among youth on the psychosis spectrum. Internalized mental health stigma is one risk factor for suicide that may be particularly salient for youth with psychosis-risk syndromes and early psychosis. Among this population, Black youth may face exposure to racism-related stressors that may exacerbate the negative effects of internalized stigma. This study examined whether internalized stigma and race interact to predict suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) in a help-seeking sample of Black and White adolescents with psychosis-risk syndromes and early psychosis. Findings suggest that Black youth with early psychosis spectrum disorders may be particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of internalized stigma as they pertain to STB. Internalized stigma may therefore represent an important treatment target in suicide prevention efforts among this population

Social work training to reduce duration of untreated psychosis: Methodology and considerations of a web-based training for community providers.

AIM: Outcomes for individuals with psychotic disorders can be improved through early intervention services; however, identification continues to be a major problem in connecting individuals with these services. Social workers form a vast majority of the human service and mental health workforce in the United States and therefore have the potential to play a unique role in identifying and referring those who may benefit from specialty early intervention services. METHODS: The current article describes the methodological design, implementation, and participant recruitment procedures of a large-scale, web-based training program for social workers promoting identification and referral of individuals with emerging symptoms of a mental illness with psychosis in the context of a randomized clinical trial. RESULTS: The web-based study enrolled 1384 individuals. More than half of study participants enrolled within the first 3 months of the 14-month recruitment period. Completion of all study components was achieved by 959 individuals (69% of total enrolled), and completion status did not vary significantly by gender, ethnicity, or facility at which the individual was employed. Completion rates varied by race, such that participants identifying as White were more likely to complete the study, while those identifying as Black were less likely. DISCUSSION: The results suggest the feasibility of using a web-based training program to engage social workers in early psychosis identification practices. Challenges related to encouraging participants to complete the training and lessons learned during the study recruitment are discussed

The influence of psychotic-like experiences on intent to seek treatment: Findings from a multi-site community survey of mental health experiences.

Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) may reflect elevated risk for serious mental illness, including psychosis. Although some studies report an association between PLEs and increased service utilization, there is evidence of unmet need among individuals with PLEs, with few studies exploring the relation between PLEs and intent to seek treatment. Characterizing factors that underlie intent to seek treatment in individuals not otherwise engaged in treatment may assist in determining the role of PLEs and future intentions, and help prioritize symptoms of greatest significance. Non-help-seeking participants ages 16-30 years (nanalysis = 2529) in a multi-site study completed online questionnaires of PLEs (PRIME with distress), depression (CESD), anxiety (STAI), and intention to seek mental health treatment. Associations between PLEs and intent to seek treatment were analyzed through multiple linear regressions. PRIME scores predicted intent to seek treatment, and item-level analyses suggested that this association was driven by items 12 (going crazy), 7 (wondering if people may hurt me), 5 (confused if things are real or imagination/dreams), and 1 (odd/unusual things going on). When accounting for the effects of anxiety and depression, PLE sum scores as well as individual experiences remained statistically significant, although effect sizes were negligible. Findings suggest that PLEs can play a role in identifying individuals who intend to seek mental health services and warrant further research in independent samples

D-cycloserine augmentation of cognitive behavioral therapy for delusions: a randomized clinical trial

Objective: D-cycloserine (DCS) promotes consolidation of extinction learning. This study extends earlier work by examining whether DCS can enhance cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for delusions. Methods: adults reporting moderate or greater delusions were randomly assigned to receive 50 mg of DCS or placebo prior to 10 weekly CBT sessions. The primary outcome was change in severity of delusions measured with the Psychotic Symptom Rating Scale delusion subscale (PSYRATS-D). Secondary outcomes included persistence of response at 3 and 6 month follow-up and the effects of DCS on memory consolidation and cognitive flexibility. Fifty-eight participants were randomized and 44 completed the trial. Results: the DCS and placebo groups did not differ in change from baseline to end of CBT on PSYRATS-D, nor did DCS improve memory consolidation or cognitive flexibility compared to placebo. However, at the 3 month follow-up visit (week 24), 47% of participants who completed treatment with DCS reported a 20% or greater decrease on PSYRATS-D compared to 15% in the placebo group (p =.04). Change in distress across CBT sessions interacted with treatment group to predict change from baseline to week 24 in PSYRATS-D total score (p =.03) such that response at week 24 was greatest in DCS-treated participants who experienced a decrease in distress during CBT sessions. Conclusions: DCS augmentation of CBT did not improve delusions compared to placebo during treatment; however, DCS was associated with a higher response rate at 3-month follow-up. DCS may produce a delayed therapeutic effect, associated with successful CBT sessions, but this finding requires replication.</p

Review of factors resulting in systemic biases in the screening, assessment, and treatment of individuals at clinical high-risk for psychosis in the United States.

BackgroundSince its inception, research in the clinical high-risk (CHR) phase of psychosis has included identifying and exploring the impact of relevant socio-demographic factors. Employing a narrative review approach and highlighting work from the United States, sociocultural and contextual factors potentially affecting the screening, assessment, and service utilization of youth at CHR were reviewed from the current literature.ResultsExisting literature suggests that contextual factors impact the predictive performance of widely used psychosis-risk screening tools and may introduce systemic bias and challenges to differential diagnosis in clinical assessment. Factors reviewed include racialized identity, discrimination, neighborhood context, trauma, immigration status, gender identity, sexual orientation, and age. Furthermore, racialized identity and traumatic experiences appear related to symptom severity and service utilization among this population.ConclusionsCollectively, a growing body of research from the United States and beyond suggests that considering context in psychosis-risk assessment can provide a more accurate appraisal of the nature of risk for psychosis, render more accurate results improving the field's prediction of conversion to psychosis, and enhance our understanding of psychosis-risk trajectories. More work is needed in the U.S. and across the globe to uncover how structural racism and systemic biases impact screening, assessment, treatment, and clinical and functional outcomes for those at CHR

Relations Among Anhedonia, Reinforcement Learning, and Global Functioning in Help-seeking Youth.

Dysfunction in the neural circuits underlying salience signaling is implicated in symptoms of psychosis and may predict conversion to a psychotic disorder in youth at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis. Additionally, negative symptom severity, including consummatory and anticipatory aspects of anhedonia, may predict functional outcome in individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. However, it is unclear whether anhedonia is related to the ability to attribute incentive salience to stimuli (through reinforcement learning [RL]) and whether measures of anhedonia and RL predict functional outcome in a younger, help-seeking population. We administered the Salience Attribution Test (SAT) to 33 participants who met criteria for either CHR or a recent-onset psychotic disorder and 29 help-seeking youth with nonpsychotic disorders. In the SAT, participants must identify relevant and irrelevant stimulus dimensions and be sensitive to different reinforcement probabilities for the 2 levels of the relevant dimension ("adaptive salience"). Adaptive salience attribution was positively related to both consummatory pleasure and functioning in the full sample. Analyses also revealed an indirect effect of adaptive salience on the relation between consummatory pleasure and both role (αβ = .22, 95% CI = 0.02, 0.48) and social functioning (αβ = .14, 95% CI = 0.02, 0.30). These findings suggest a distinct pathway to poor global functioning in help-seeking youth, via impaired reward sensitivity and RL

Telepsychotherapy with Youth at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis: Clinical Issues and Best Practices during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Early detection and prevention of psychosis has become an international priority. Much of this work has focused on youth presenting with attenuated symptoms of psychosis-those at Clinical High Risk for psychosis (CHR)-given their elevated probability of developing the full disorder in subsequent years. Individuals at CHR may be prone to exacerbated psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent physical isolation measures, due to heightened stress sensitivity and comorbid mental health problems. Telepsychotherapy holds promise for reaching this population, especially during the current COVID-19 outbreak. However, there are limited evidence-based guidelines or interventions for use of telepsychotherapy with this population. In this paper, we review common clinical issues for individuals at CHR and how they might be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic; best practices for treatment and adaptations for telepsychotherapy for individuals at CHR; and highlight real clinical issues that we are currently experiencing in a United States-based specialized CHR clinic as we conduct telepsychotherapy via videoconferencing. We conclude with questions for those in the field to contemplate, as well as potential challenges and benefits in using telepsychotherapy with individuals at CHR and their families