ontrackny with the option of social network meetings

Conditions: First Episode Psychosis; Schizophrenia

Summary: early intervention programs for psychosis help improve short-term treatment and recovery outcomes for individuals experiencing psychosis. ontrackny is a coordinated specialty care (csc) program, developed to treat young adults within two years of experiencing a non-affective episode of psychosis. this project aims to expand the role of family engagement and support within the ontrackny model. borrowing from the needs adapted and open dialogue models, the study team created a family therapy service that includes the client and members of his/her social network to navigate crises and assist in treatment planning. this service, social network meetings, will be offered to individuals enrolled in the ontrackny@mha program as an additional, voluntary, service option. the study proposes that the introduction of social network meetings may improve treatment and recovery outcomes.

this project aims to expand the role of family engagement and support within the ontrackny model by offering a new service, social network meetings. the study team will offer social network meetings to individuals enrolled in the ontrackny@mha program as an additional service option. this option will be completely voluntary and available for a 12 month period. participant entrance into the study will be staggered with no more than approximately 5 individuals in the social network group and no more than 5 individuals not in the social network group enrolled each month. participants will choose which group they would like to be in, if any. data will be collected for all participants, both those participating and not participating in the social network meetings upon entering the study and then once every three months and at the end of their time in the study. for all participants, the study will end after 6 months of participation. meetings may occur as often as 3 times a week when there is a crisis or more commonly would occur once every other week. these meetings will last between 60 and 90 minutes and will take place for however long the clients and their social networks would like within the project period. study aims are: 1. to determine the extent to which clients and their social networks find the social network meetings acceptable and beneficial. 2. to compare outcomes (family functioning, recovery) of individuals participating in social network meetings to those not participating.

Eligibility criteria:
subject population 1: ontrackny mha client- social network meeting group (ages 16-30) inclusion criteria: * ages 16-30 * currently enrolled, clinically stable, english speaking clients in the ontrackny program at mha westchester determined my client roster for mha westchester program and clinical judgment * willingness to participate in social network meetings determined by self-report as asked by clinician * willingness to complete brief baseline and quarterly assessments determined by self-report as asked by clinician exclusion criteria: * anyone who the ontrackny team determines is clinically unstable determined by clinician assessment * clients who are unwilling to participate in social network meetings determined by self-report subject population 2: ontrackny mha client- no social network meeting group (ages 16-30) inclusion criteria * ages 16-30 * currently enrolled clients in the ontrackny program at mha westchester determined by mha westchester client roster for ontrackny exclusion criteria: * anyone who the ontrackny team determines is clinically unstable determined by clinician assessment subject population 3: social network member (ages 18+) inclusion criteria: * must be 18 years or older * english speaking member of social network (i.e., biological or chosen family member/s) of a currently enrolled client in the ontrackny program at mha westchester who has agreed to participate in the study determined by client self-report * willingness to complete brief baseline and quarterly assessments determined by social network member self-report * willingness to participate in social network meetings determined by social network member self-report exclusion criteria: * family members who the client does not want involved in the social network meetings determined by client self-report

Keywords: social network meetings first episode psychosis ontrackny