In the First Person: A Window into the Experience of Early Psychosis and Recovery

This article contains first person accounts in narrative and visual form created by clients and family members who have participated in the Early Detection and Intervention for the Prevention of Psychosis Program (EDIPPP). By the time most individuals join EDIPPP they have been experiencing a confusing constellation of thought and behavior changes. For most, EDIPPP signifies the next step in a journey of trying to reclaim a sense of agency in their lives and promise for the future. Understanding the process youth and families go through to make meaning of a “high risk” indication is critical for the clinicians who work with these families. By highlighting these first person accounts and the story they tell, we strive to contribute to this understanding and thereby enrich our discussion of the early detection and intervention for psychosis with the perspectives of individuals participating in our study. These narratives point to the potential value of further research focused specifically on how youth and families come to understand being at risk for psychosis.