The Initial Prodrome in Psychosis: Descriptive and Qualitative Aspects

Objective: This study aimed to describe in detail, using a retrospective approach, the prodromal symptoms in first-episode psychosis patients. This initial prodrome, the period of disturbance preceding a first psychotic episode, is potentially important for early intervention, identification of biological markers, and understanding the process of becoming psychotic.

Method: A consecutive series of 21 first-episode patients was recruited from the Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centre, a specialised service for young people aged between 16 and 30 with first-episode psychosis. Subjects were interviewed in the recovery phase after the acute episode, about the period leading up to the psychosis, using a combination of unstructured and semi-structured techniques.

Results: A wide variability of phenomena and sequence patterns was found, with symptoms being a mixture of attenuated psychotic symptoms, neurotic and mood-related symptoms, and behavioural changes. Symptoms were often disabling and some, such as suicidal thoughts, potentially life-threatening.

Conclusions: The findings highlight the loss of information that has resulted from disregarding early phenomenological studies of the psychotic prodrome and instead focussing on behavioural features. The ground work has been laid for the development of better methodologies for assessing and measuring first psychotic prodromes with increased emphasis on experiential phenomena. This has the potential to lead to the early recognition and more accurate prediction of subsequent psychosis, as well as a deeper understanding of the neurobiology of the onset of psychotic disorder.