Promoting Early Psychosis Identification and Psychosis-Informed Care: Characterizing the Statewide Impact of M-PATH in Massachusetts
Heather Muir, PhD (1), Emily Gagen, PhD (1,2), Rebecca Wleck, BA (1), Charlene Flynn, LMHC (1), Natalia Nodiff (1), Amanda Weber, PhD (1,2), Henry White, MD (1)
1. Brookline Center for Community Mental Health, Brookline, MA
2. Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry, Boston, MA
Background: The Massachusetts Strategic Plan for Early Psychosis (Mass-STEP) outlines priorities to build a high-quality system of care for people with psychosis. A key goal is to promote early identification and intervention through support for community members likely to encounter those experiencing psychosis. In alignment with this goal, the Massachusetts Psychosis Access and Triage Hub (M-PATH) was created to provide centralized triage and navigation, offering rapid consultation and support for early psychosis.
Methods: Since launching in late 2022, M-PATH has engaged almost 700 young people, families, and providers with support, education, resources, and referrals to specialized early psychosis programs. Its family partner and young adult peer mentor have drawn on lived experience to support families and youth through more than 50 sessions. M-PATH has also delivered over 100 presentations and trainings statewide to almost 3900 individuals, including to primary care and pediatric practices (with an emphasis on community health centers) and to non-behavioral health youth-facing state agencies (e.g., DCF, DYS). These efforts disseminate the principles of psychosis-informed care, which, similar to trauma-informed care, equips providers with skills, information, and confidence to discuss psychosis without requiring specialized expertise.
Results: We will present quantitative and qualitative data on M-PATH’s statewide impact since 2022. Findings include referral patterns (e.g., provider consultations, family consultations, peer mentorship, family partnership), referral sources, ages of youth served, sessions completed, response times, and organizational presentations delivered. Additionally, we will report qualitative themes of feedback from young people, families, and organizations on their experiences working with M-PATH. Finally, we will describe the principles of psychosis-informed care as well as future directions for M-PATH.
Conclusion: In under three years, M-PATH has significantly expanded access to early psychosis support by centralizing triage and navigation while promoting psychosis-informed care across diverse systems. Despite rapid growth and impact, opportunities remain for further expansion.