The Psychosis-Risk Syndrome

Book excerpt: Using the authors' over thirteen years of experience at the psychosis-risk clinic at Yale University School of Medicine, The Psychosis-Risk Syndrome presents a concise handbook that details the diagnostic tools and building blocks that comprise the Structural Interview for Psychosis-Risk Syndromes, or SIPS. Clear and to the point, this volume provides an in-depth description of this new clinical high-risk population, along with instructions on how to use the SIPS to evaluate persons for psychosis-risk.The handbook's main section takes the reader step-by-step through the SIPS evaluation, tracking how patients and families find their way to the clinic, the initial interview, the evaluation process, and the summary session consisting of findings and future options. The core diagnostic symptoms of the SIPS and psychosis-risk states are illustrated with dozens of symptom and case examples drawn from real but disguised patients from the Yale clinic. With an emphasis on clinical usefulness, the handbook finishes with "practice cases" for the reader to test his or her new skills at evaluating clinical populations for psychosis-risk.