Multiple voices throughout the last century have preached the merits of various treatments for schizophrenia, ranging from cold baths to the currently accepted standards such as neuroleptic medication. Along with these ongoing treatments, there have been quiet commentaries, made mostly from the sidelines, suggesting the need to shift and refocus the way we think and talk about schizophrenia. Harry Stack Sullivan noted in 1927 that, 'The psychiatrist sees too many end states and deals professionally with too few of the pre psychotic" (Sullivan 192711994, p. 135). Similar thoughts have been echoed by purveyors of modem treatment for psychosis such as Thomas H. McGlashan: "Like others before me, I tried to make a difference . . . but like the others my efforts were largely in vain. I came upon the scene too late; most of the damage was already done" (McGlashan, 1996). Similar interest in the early phase of schizophrenia has developed across the globe and consolidated into a tentative, yet meaningful deliberation about the potential for prevention of psychotic illness through early identification and intervention. In the past decade, international support has grown from: Ian Falloon's prodromal intervention project in Great Britain (Falloon et aI. , 1996); Patrick McGorry's and Jane Edward's first episode psychosis program in Melbourne, Australia (McGorry et al.

Klappentext
The papers presented here, written by experts from all parts of the globe, describe efforts that represent a revolutionary moment in the treatment of schizophrenia disorders as, with caution, we begin to shift the standard of treatment toward early intervention and prevention. Contributions are organised according to the early course of psychosis. The book is of critical importance to anyone interested in psychotic disorders and the revolutionary impact that the field of early detection and intervention is having on traditional conceptualisations of psychotic illness.

Inhalt
Risk and Projective Factors in the Premorbid Phase of Psychosis.- Predicting Schizophrenia from Teachers' Reports of Behaviour.Results from a general population birth cohort.- Premorbid Interventions: Identification of Those at Risk.- Phenomenology, Epidemiology, and Course in the Prodromal Phase of Psychosis.- Epidemiology of Prodrome in Familial Schizophrenia Description of the DEEP project.- The Prodromal Phase of Psychosis.- Early Intervention in the Prodromal Phase of Psychosis.- Recognition and Treatment of the Pre-Psychotic Phase of Psychotic Disorders: Frontier or Fantasy?.- Early Detection and Intervention through Integration with Primary Health Services: The Buckingham Project.- Instrument for the Assessment of Prodromal Symptoms and States.- Early Intervention in the Onset Phase of Psychosis.- A Systematized Program to Reduce Duration of Untreated Psychosis in First Episode Schizophrenia.- Pharmacotherapy of First Episode Psychosis.- Treatment in the Early Stages of Psychosis Essay concerning Treatment of a Moving Target.- Family-based Treatment in Prodromal and First Episode Psychosis.- Neurobiology of Vulnerability and Deterioration in the Early Course of Psychosis.- Pathophysiology of Schizophrenia: Neurodevelopmental and Neurodegenerative Processes.- List of Participants/Lecturers.- Name Index.