title: Journey into and through an early detection of psychosis service: the subjective experience of persons at risk of developing psychosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to explore how persons who have been assessed as being at risk of developing psychosis make sense of and understand their experiences, using a qualitative approach.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample comprised six female and four male participants (n=10), ranging in age from 16 to 30 years, with a mean age of 21.8 years. All the participants had entered into a National Health Service Early Detection service in the North of England, which provides interventions for persons assessed as being at a high risk of developing psychosis. Individual semistructured interviews were conducted to study how persons at risk of developing psychosis construct their understanding and perception of their experiences.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The analyses identified three central themes: (i) 'perception of needs', which highlighted how participants recognized the need to enter services and how they identified what they required from the service; (ii) participants' subjective journey; and (iii) participants' orientation to the future.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The journey described by participants assessed as being at risk of developing psychosis provides further insight into how persons make sense of their experiences from a qualitative 'insider' perspective. The findings are discussed in relation to the existing literature relating to the early detection and intervention of psychosis and clinical implications are identified.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California-San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94115, USA. kate.hardy@ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Kate V
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Hardy
authors.forename: Joanne M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Dickson
authors.forename: Anthony P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Morrison
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult