Pictured: Clinic Director David Cicero, Associate Professor of Psychology, with staff members in the clinic.
Collaboration involves a clinic operated by UH Department of Psychology (College of Social Sciences), with physicians from UH Department of Psychiatry (John A. Burns School of Medicine), and mental health professionals from the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health.
By Lisa Shirota, Communications Director, UH Mānoa College of Social Sciences
OnTrack Hawaiʻi, the state’s first coordinated specialty care treatment clinic for youth experiencing a first episode of psychosis, opened its doors at the University of Hawaiʻi (UH) in 2015, and is opening a new clinic in the Ala Moana Building (1441 Kapiʻolani Boulevard, Suite #1503) on November 20, 2018.
Offering a full complement of therapeutic and assessment services by a multi-disciplinary specialty team including faculty of the UH College of Social Services Department of Psychology and the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) Department of Psychiatry, the clinic is designed for individuals age 15 to 24 who are within the first two years of experiencing psychosis, or extreme emotional impairment.
“OnTrack Hawaiʻi is based on early psychosis intervention and treatment models that have a long, successful history in Australia and Europe and are spreading throughout the United States,” said David Cicero, associate professor of psychology in the College of Social Sciences at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and clinic director. “These models use a team-based approach and patient-centered shared decision-making to develop a coordinated specialty care plan to treat affected youth and young adults.”
The clinic, which is the first of its kind in Hawaiʻi, aims to help clients improve their quality of life by helping clients get back on track at work, school, and relationships with friends and family,” Cicero said.
“Youth experiencing their first episode of psychosis are often frightened and struggle to understand what is happening to them. Research has shown that these experiences are best treated through early, structured intervention tailored to fit the needs of each client. The key is a collaborative environment where individuals and their OnTrack Hawaiʻi team select the best mix of support services and treatment options. This increases the chances that the client will remain in treatment and improve the long-term course.”
According to the Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode (RAISE) study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), schizophrenia, which is characterized by psychosis, usually begins between the ages of 16 and 30. It develops in stages, and RAISE research has found that care provided at the earliest stage produces the best results.
In the United States, an average of 74 weeks elapse between the time of the first episode of psychosis and engagement in appropriate treatment, while other countries have reduced this delay to two to seven weeks. OnTrack Hawaiʻi’s goal is to step into this breech and help reduce this timeframe.
It is estimated that approximately 100,000 adolescents and young adults in the U.S. experience an initial episode of psychosis each year. Some symptoms include: auditory hallucinations; visual hallucinations; paranoid feelings; unusual beliefs; disorganized thinking; and/or changed behavior.
Hawaiʻi youth and young adults experiencing these symptoms can find the following services through OnTrack Hawaiʻi:
More about the clinic:
OnTrack Hawaiʻi is a collaboration between UH Mānoa’s Department of Psychology, UH Mānoa’s Department of Psychiatry in the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), and the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Adult Mental Health Divisions. It is funded through a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and does not bill insurance.
OnTrack Hawaiʻi offers its services to individuals regardless of ability to pay. Its team works with clients to arrange coverage for services such as medication and other related services. For more information about OnTrack Hawaiʻi, call 808-956-6289 or email TrackHi@hawaii.edu.