Pathways to care: help seeking behaviour in first episode psychosis.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the number of attempts it took before patients with a first episode of psychosis received adequate help, the signs or symptoms that led them to seek help and the people from whom they attempted to seek help.

METHOD: Subjects were 86 individuals with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder, mainly schizophrenia, who were attending a comprehensive program for early psychosis treatment.

RESULTS: Help-seeking attempts began in the prodromal phase of the illness and continued into the psychotic phase. Concerning behaviours ranged from more general symptoms to psychotic symptoms. A range of contacts were made early on but emergency services were most often the contact that helped individuals obtain appropriate treatment for psychosis.

CONCLUSION: Improved public education and gatekeeper education might reduce the time required for individuals developing a psychosis to receive timely and adequate care.