TY  -  JOUR
AU  -  Pelizza, Lorenzo
AU  -  Azzali, Silvia
AU  -  Paterlini, Federica
AU  -  Garlassi, Sara
AU  -  Scazza, Ilaria
AU  -  Chiri, Luigi Rocco
AU  -  Poletti, Michele
AU  -  Pupo, Simona
AU  -  Raballo, Andrea
T1  -  Characterization of young people with first episode psychosis 
or at ultra-high risk: the Reggio Emilia At-Risk Mental States (ReARMS) program
PY  -  2019
Y1  -  2019-11-01
DO  -  10.1708/3281.32544
JO  -  Rivista di Psichiatria
JA  -  Riv Psichiatr
VL  -  54
IS  -  6
SP  -  254
EP  -  263
PB  -  Il Pensiero Scientifico Editore
SN  -  2038-2502
Y2  -  2026/04/17
UR  -  http://dx.doi.org/10.1708/3281.32544
N2  -  SUMMARY. Aim. Twenty years of research on the Ultra-High Risk (UHR) paradigm have shown the importance of early intervention in psychosis (EIP) in reducing its severity and persistence. From September 2012, the Reggio Emilia Department of Mental Health developed a specific care pathway (the Reggio Emilia At-Risk Mental States [ReARMS] protocol) as an diffused, “liquid” EIP infrastructure branched within the network of all its adult and child/adolescent mental health service, aimed to offer an evidence-based, expertise-driven protocol of care to young people with a First Episode Psychosis (FEP) or an UHR mental state. Aim of the current study was to investigate patterns of referral to the ReARMS protocol during the first five years of clinical activity. Methods. All participants (n=300) were help-seeking adolescents and young adults, aged 13-35 years, who completed an ad-hoc socio-demographic/clinical schedule and the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States (CAARMS). Results. Among individuals who completed the baseline assessment, 95 (31.7%) did not comply with UHR/FEP defined criteria (UHR- subgroup), while 205 (68.3%) were offered the ReARMS protocol: of them, 154 (75.1%) accepted and were enrolled in the program, 19 (9.3%) refused, and 32 (15.6%) dropped out during the first year of treatment. In comparison with UHR- and UHR, FEP patients showed higher percentages of history of substance abuse and previous hospitalization, as well as higher levels of psychopathology and functioning. Individuals entering the ReARMS protocol were mainly referred by emergency room/general hospital, general practitioners, or they were self-referred. Conclusions. EIP on young subjects at UHR of psychosis (together with FEP patients) in Italian public mental health services is clinically relevant, feasible, and recommended, also in adolescence, where there is a specific high risk of falling through the child‐adult service gap.
ER  -