Promoting a patient-centered, transdiagnostic approach to prevention of severe mental illness

Do psychotic experiences act as effect modifiers in youths with common mental health problems allocated to transdiagnostic cognitive behavioural therapy versus management as usual? Secondary analyses of the Mind-My-Mind randomized trial

BACKGROUND

Psychotic experiences (PEs) are common in help-seeking youths with non-psychotic mental health problems, yet the clinical importance of PEs as potential effect modifiers of psychotherapy interventions has been scarcely examined. We examined if PEs were associated with a differential response to transdiagnostic cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) aimed at common emotional and behavioural problems.

METHODS

We present secondary analyses from the Mind My Mind (MMM) trial that randomized 396, 6-16-year-old youths to either 9-13 sessions of transdiagnostic modular community-based CBT (MMM) or community-based management as usual (MAU). MMM was superior to MAU in reducing parent-reported impact of mental health problems according to the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). PEs were assessed by semi-structured screening interviews at baseline. The contrast between subgroups (presence/absence of PEs) was calculated to test if PEs are potential effect modifiers regarding the change in parent-reported SDQ-impact (primary outcome, rated 0[low]-10[high]) and other SDQ-related outcomes.

RESULTS

Baseline PEs were present in 74 (19%) of youths. The superior effect of MMM on changes in SDQ-impact from baseline to week 18 was not effect modified by the presence of PEs (PEs[yes] -0.89 [95%CI -1.77;-0.01] vs. PEs[no] -1.10 [95%CI -1.52;-0.68], p-value for interaction .68). For secondary outcomes similar patterns were observed. Limitations Statistical power was limited to show if PEs modified treatment response. Replication and meta-analytic evidence are needed.

CONCLUSIONS

The beneficial effects of MMM transdiagnostic CBT did not differ by PE-status, indicating that youths with emotional and behavioural problems could be offered such psychotherapy irrespective of co-occurring PEs.

Usability of the IDDEAS prototype in child and adolescent mental health services: A qualitative study for clinical decision support system development

INTRODUCTION

Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) clinical decision support system (CDSS) provides clinicians with real-time support as they assess and treat patients. CDSS can integrate diverse clinical data for identifying child and adolescent mental health needs earlier and more comprehensively. Individualized Digital Decision Assist System (IDDEAS) has the potential to improve quality of care with enhanced efficiency and effectiveness.

METHODS

We examined IDDEAS usability and functionality in a prototype for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), using a user-centered design process and qualitative methods with child and adolescent psychiatrists and clinical psychologists. Participants were recruited from Norwegian CAMHS and were randomly assigned patient case vignettes for clinical evaluation, with and without IDDEAS. Semi-structured interviews were conducted as one part of testing the usability of the prototype following a five-question interview guide. All interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed following qualitative content analysis.

RESULTS

Participants were the first 20 individuals from the larger IDDEAS prototype usability study. Seven participants explicitly stated a need for integration with the patient electronic health record system. Three participants commended the step-by-step guidance as potentially helpful for novice clinicians. One participant did not like the aesthetics of the IDDEAS at this stage. All participants were pleased about the display of the patient information along with guidelines and suggested that wider guideline coverage will make IDDEAS much more useful. Overall, participants emphasized the importance of maintaining the clinician as the decision-maker in the clinical process, and the overall potential utility of IDDEAS within Norwegian CAMHS.

CONCLUSION

Child and adolescent mental health services psychiatrists and psychologists expressed strong support for the IDDEAS clinical decision support system if better integrated in daily workflow. Further usability assessments and identification of additional IDDEAS requirements are necessary. A fully functioning, integrated version of IDDEAS has the potential to be an important support for clinicians in the early identification of risks for youth mental disorders and contribute to improved assessment and treatment of children and adolescents.

Transdiagnostic Psychopathology in a Help-Seeking Population of an Early Recognition Center for Mental Disorders: Protocol for an Experience Sampling Study

BACKGROUND

Prevention in psychiatry provides a promising way to address the burden of mental illness. However, established approaches focus on specific diagnoses and do not address the heterogeneity and manifold potential outcomes of help-seeking populations that present at early recognition services. Conceptualizing the psychopathology manifested in help-seeking populations from a network perspective of interacting symptoms allows transdiagnostic investigations beyond binary disease categories. Furthermore, modern technologies such as smartphones facilitate the application of the Experience Sampling Method (ESM).

OBJECTIVE

This study is a combination of ESM with network analyses to provide valid insights beyond the established assessment instruments in a help-seeking population.

METHODS

We will examine 75 individuals (aged 18-40 years) of the help-seeking population of the Cologne early recognition center. For a maximally naturalistic sample, only minimal exclusion criteria will be applied. We will collect data for 14 days using a mobile app to assess 10 transdiagnostic symptoms (ie, depressive, anxious, and psychotic symptoms) as well as distress level 5 times a day. With these data, we will generate average group-level symptom networks and personalized symptom networks using a 2-step multilevel vector autoregressive model. Additionally, we will explore associations between symptom networks and sociodemographic, risk, and resilience factors, as well as psychosocial functioning.

RESULTS

The protocol was designed in February 2020 and approved by the Ethics Committee of the University Hospital Cologne in October 2020. The protocol was reviewed and funded by the Köln Fortune program in September 2020. Data collection began in November 2020 and was completed in November 2021. Of the 258 participants who were screened, 93 (36%) fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were willing to participate in the study. Of these 93 participants, 86 (92%) completed the study. The first results are expected to be published in 2022.

CONCLUSIONS

This study will provide insights about the feasibility and utility of the ESM in a help-seeking population of an early recognition center. Providing the first explorative phenotyping of transdiagnostic psychopathology in this population, our study will contribute to the innovation of early recognition in psychiatry. The results will help pave the way for prevention and targeted early intervention in a broader patient group, and thus, enable greater intended effects in alleviating the burden of psychiatric disorders.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/35206.

Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: Psychosis Risk in Children and Adolescents With an At-Risk Mental State

OBJECTIVE

The "At Risk Mental State" (ARMS) approach to psychosis, also called "Clinical/Ultra High Risk," has had a major impact on psychosis services internationally. Despite well-established developmental differences in the prevalence and expression of psychotic symptoms from childhood into adulthood, there has been no systematic review of psychosis transitions specifically in children and adolescents up to age of 18 years. Evidence for this age group is crucial for developmentally appropriate clinical decisions by child and adolescent psychiatrists.

METHOD

Systematic review and meta-analysis of psychosis risk among children diagnosed with ARMS up to age 18 years, with pooled transition rates after 1-year, 2-year and ≥5-year follow-up.

RESULTS

We retrieved 1,107 records and identified 16 articles from 9 studies reporting transition rates on 436 individuals with ARMS aged 9 to 18 years. The pooled transition rate to psychosis at 1 year was 9.5% (95% CI = 5.5%-14.2%, 7 studies included), at 2-years 12.1% (95% CI = 6.7%-18.6%, 4 studies included), and at ≥5 years 16.1% (95% CI = 5.6%-30.0%, 4 studies included). We did not find evidence that the diagnosis of ARMS was associated with increased risk of psychosis once risk-enriching recruitment strategies were taken into account.

CONCLUSION

At 5-year follow-up, 1 in 6 youths diagnosed with an ARMS had transitioned to psychosis, but we did not find evidence that this risk was related to ARMS diagnosis as opposed to sampling/recruitment strategies. Our findings indicate a need for caution in applying ARMS methodology to children and adolescents. and highlight the need for developmentally sensitive approaches when considering psychosis risk.