Clinical Guidelines and Standards Copy

A set of provincial early psychosis clinical guidelines have been developed to provide guidance in assessing and treating individuals with early psychosis. The practices recommended in these guidelines are based in research evidence. These practices are also adapted from a variety of sources including the Australian Clinical Guidelines for Early Psychosis, Initiative to Reduce Schizophrenia and National Schizophrenia Fellowship Clinical and Service Guidelines, New Zealand Guidance Note, British Columbia’s Early Psychosis Care Guide and the International Early Psychosis Association’s Draft Consensus Statement. These Fraser South guidelines were a joint effort of a task group consisting of the EPI Program staff and the MCFD Early Psychosis Expert Table Advisory Committee.

Later, the province established the EPI Standards and Guidelines, designed to facilitate implementation and ongoing operations of EPI programs in BC. These EPI Standards and Guidelines were developed by the BC Ministry of Health Services.

This document can be downloaded below.

Principles Guiding Early Intervention
Early intervention is not simply intervening early. The approach to care is different as it is essential that clients and families be actively engaged in order for treatment to be maintained for a year or longer. The principles underlying early psychosis clinical guidelines include:

Care is Recovery-Focused

• Strive for the best possible outcomes
• Focus on quality of life – not just psychosis
• Clients and Families are Partners in Care
• Increase clients’ control over their illness
• Empower clients and families with confidence, knowledge and skills

Care is Respectful and Humane

• Avoid treatments that are traumatizing or coercive
• Respect individual and cultural differences

Optimal Care is Biopsychosocial

• Recognize the importance of both pharmacological and psychosocial care
• Provide treatments through multidisciplinary teams
• Follow Integrated Case Management process that includes the client and the family

Care is Developmentally Appropriate

• Target care to a client’s developmental stage
• Develop goals that are appropriate for the stage of development

Activity Two – Clinical Guidelines and Standards

Download the BC EPI Standards and Guidelines here.