Young people at risk of psychosis reduced their use of alcohol and other drugs after participation in an innovative early intervention mental health program, new research shows, offering strong evidence for the multifaceted benefits of this model of care.
The research, published in Psychiatric Services, explored how participation in the national headspace Early Psychosis program impacted the substance use of nearly 2,000 young people (12–25), finding that those who accessed the program had reductions in the use of cannabis, amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS), sedatives and alcohol.
Among the participants, substance use at the start of treatment was common, with 60 per cent using alcohol, 43 per cent using cannabis, 41 per cent using tobacco, 15 per cent using sedatives and 15 per cent using ATS.
After six months of treatment in the headspace Early Psychosis program, cannabis use declined most significantly – dropping by 10 per cent – and significant reductions were also seen in the use of ATS and sedatives, along with smaller reductions in the use of alcohol.
Lead author of the study and Senior Research Fellow at Orygen, Dr Ellie Brown, said the new findings offered a strong endorsement of the early psychosis model of care developed by Orygen, and reenforced that support for alcohol and drug use issues should be factored into mental health care.
“For many people, mental health problems and substance use disorders exist at the same time, and each impacts the other,” Dr Brown said.
“One of the most costly and most debilitating mental health conditions is psychosis, and poor outcomes are often compounded by substance use, so it’s really promising to see that intervening early with support for people at risk of psychosis can also reduce their use of substances.
“We saw the most significant decreases in cannabis use, and this is important because the use of this substance is quite high in people at risk of psychosis, and can have negative impacts on illness progression and recovery.
Dr Brown said the early psychosis model aims to detect young people at risk for psychosis or experiencing a first episode, providing them with intensive, extended and multidisciplinary support during this critical early period.
“Early intervention is such a key element of this model, and this new research shows just how key it is to embed substance use assessment and treatment into mental health interventions and models of care, and the real difference this can make for young people.
“Although we saw significant decreases in the use of cannabis – and some other illicit substances that can negatively impact outcomes for people experiencing psychosis – we also saw that use of alcohol and tobacco remained quite steady, so this is an area we need more focus on.
“We have a unique opportunity to change the trajectory of young people’s lives – helping them recover from mental ill-health and reduce potentially harmful substance use – and it’s extremely heartening to see that this model of care can make a difference.”
The research was led by Orygen in collaboration with the University of Melbourne and headspace National Youth Mental Health Foundation, and will help inform the development of a new specialist youth mental health model of care.