A Psychological Treatment to Facilitate Recovery in Early Psychosis: the Graduated Recovery Intervention Program (Grip): Overview of Treatment Approach and Initial Clinical Findings

Despite the effectiveness of medication in reducing symptoms in people who have experienced a first episode of psychosis, persistent functional impairments are common, and are associated with an increased risk for relapse and a poor long-term prognosis. Adjunctive psychosocial interventions are needed to address these functional impairments and to assist with improving illness self-management and psychological adjustment. The Graduated Recovery Intervention Program (GRIP) is a novel cognitive-behavioral therapy program designed to facilitate symptomatic and functional recovery in people who have experienced an initial episode of psychotic illness. Above all else, GRIP aims to help people to develop increased self- efficacy and hope, and to move forward by setting and achieving personally meaningful goals. In this book, the treatment development process of GRIP is described. An overview of the treatment approach, including specific treatment phases and prescribed interventions, is provided. Finally, data from an open feasibility trial of this intervention are presented.