Background, current evidence and key references

Psychotic disorders including schizophrenia are severe mental illnesses that affect 3% of the population and constitute an enormous burden to patients and the society. They cause profound disruptions in patients' functioning including independent living skills, relationships, scholastic and vocational development, and are ranked by World Health Organization as the third most disabling medical condition. In an attempt to minimize long-term disability, numerous early intervention (EI) programs for psychosis have been established worldwide in the past decade. It is based on the premise that shortening of treatment delay and provision of phase-specific treatments in the initial few years of psychosis can improve illness outcome. Literature indicated that patients who received EI had better clinical and functional outcomes than those treated by standard psychiatric care. Nonetheless, accumulating evidence has suggested that a significant proportion of early psychosis patients exhibited functional deterioration even in the presence of clinical remission. Studies have also consistently shown that patients with psychosis frequently experience motivational deficits and diminished goal-directed behaviours which are key negative symptoms predictive of functional outcome. Functional disability thus represents an unmet therapeutic need in EI for psychosis.

In this regard, there is a shift of therapeutic focus from symptom control to functional enhancement. It is also increasingly recognized that patients' perspectives should be taken into consideration in conceptualizing functional recovery and developing recovery-oriented service to further improve functional outcome . Owing to lack of effective treatments in addressing functional impairment, recently, there is an emerging interest in adopting life coaching to complement other interventions by its specific focus on motivation and functioning. Life coaching is defined as a collaborative, solution-focused, outcome-oriented and systematic process which aims to facilitate enhancement of life experience and goal attainment of an individual in various life domains . It is based on the theoretical framework of positive psychology and behavioural change model, and targets at building up an individual's potential via fostering hope, motivation, self-efficacy and self-regulation. The principles of life coaching thus closely align with recovery orientation that emphasizes on self-initiation and empowerment via person-centred and strength-based approach. In fact, empirical evidence suggested that hopelessness and low self-efficacy were associated with poor functioning in early psychosis. Conversely, increased motivation was shown to enhance both functional and cognitive outcomes in schizophrenia . Additionally, studies evaluating coaching in non-clinical population found that it significantly improved subjects' motivation and psychological wellbeing. Despite the growing recognition and adoption of life coaching approach in mental health services, it has rarely been applied in the early course of psychotic disorder.

Jockey Club Early Psychosis (JCEP) project is a territory-wide specialized EI service that is launched in August 2009 and provides 3-year phase-specific intervention for adult patients presenting with first-episode psychosis (FEP) to psychiatric units of Hospital Authority (HA). To promote early functional recovery, JCEP project develops recovery-oriented intervention based on life coaching approach (recovery-oriented coaching) in addition to case management. This is a structured, group-based coaching program incorporating cognitive-behavioural and solution-focused therapeutic components. The program facilitates patients to undergo active change process via identification of achievable goals, formulation of action plans, provision of feedback and progress monitoring for goal attainment. Unlike the majority of therapies that focus mainly on symptoms and functional deficiencies, this program is strength-oriented and aims to facilitate patients to gain a sense of agency and to achieve sustained functional improvement via firstly, enhancing motivation, self-regulation and competence by positive reinforcement obtained from successive accomplishments of self-determined goals; secondly, providing an autonomy-supportive treatment environment with a context of recovery expectations; and thirdly, facilitating formation of supportive social network in group-based setting.

We have previously examined perceptions of early psychosis patients on recovery, with achievement of adequate functioning being regarded as a key element signifying recovery. Our earlier study on FEP patients with EI revealed that less than one-fifth achieved recovery and only 43% of remitted patients were in functional remission at the end of 3-year follow-up. Thus, in line with the literature, our findings indicated an urgent need for developing effective interventions to optimize patients' functional outcome in the early illness stage which is otherwise regarded as a critical window of opportunity for minimizing long-term disability. In this context, recovery-oriented coaching program which specifically addresses motivational and functional impairments may prove to be an effective psychosocial intervention for promoting functional recovery, and thereby worthy of systematic evaluation in patients with early psychosis.