Posted 1 Oct 2009 - 09:55 by root
Read the abstract published in the British Journal of Psychiatry (2009) of outcomes of the study conducted in Northern Ireland that aimed to examine the differences in outcome between individuals with first-episode psychosis who have never misused substances, those who stop misusing substances after initial presentation and those who persistently misused substances over the 1-year assessment period.
While continued substance misuse was associated with poorer outcome, there was no difference in outcome between participants who stopped using drugs and those who never used them.
The authors recommend that "Identification and treatment of substance misuse should be a key component of early intervention services. This has implications for staff training and the structure of such services, which should focus on the recognition and assertive treatment of substance misuse in this patient group."
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