Get Involved: Providers
Providers and Professionals
Pediatricians and other providers are in a unique position to support teens/young adults experiencing first episode psychosis.
Pediatricians are often the first physicians to encounter adolescents and young adults presenting with psychotic symptoms.
You would act immediately if a patient showed the early signs of a stroke. Responding quickly to the early signs of mental illness is just as critical for patients’ health and wellbeing. Recovery outcomes can be improved with timely help.
“FACTS” will help you remember the most common early warning signs.
F = FUNCTIONING: Functional decline (school, work, friends, activities)
A = ATYPICAL: Atypical perceptual experiences (seeing or hearing things that are not there)
C = COGNITION: Cognitive difficulties (memory, attention, organization, complex ideas)
T = THOUGHTS: Thought disturbance or unusual beliefs (suspiciousness of friends/family; believing others can read or control their thoughts)
S = SPEECH: Speech or behavior that is disorganized
Patients for whom any of these are new or worsening should be assessed further.
Source: https://www.psychosisscreening.org/
Learning more about how to identify and further evaluate symptoms and collaborate with and refer to specialty care is critical in helping to minimize the duration of untreated psychosis and to optimize outcomes.