Preliminary clinical cohort outcomes of a brief, hybrid care clinic model for individuals with psychosis
Victoria Lisowski *, Andrew Jin Soo Byun *, Kathryn Taylor Ledley *, Brian Sampson, Maddalena Cipriani* , Matcheri Keshavan*, Michelle Friedman-Yakoobian*, John Torous*
* Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Background: With limited access to evidence-based psychological treatments for individuals with psychosis, hybrid digital care models are promising yet remain under-explored in naturalistic psychosis populations. Our BEACON model adapts an established hybrid care model (with clinician-delivered therapy, the mindLAMP smartphone app, and Digital Navigator coaching) for individuals with psychosis. Having presented previously on the development and adaptation of the BEACON model, this poster reports preliminary feasibility and clinical outcome data from its initial real-world implementation.
Methods: A preliminary clinical cohort (N=23) spanning the psychosis spectrum (Clinical High Risk, First Episode, and Chronic Psychosis; ages 18–56) completed the 8-week BEACON program. Primary clinical outcomes (attenuated psychosis symptoms, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance), secondary measures (recovery, quality of life, disability, emotion regulation, etc.), and passive digital phenotype data (steps, screen time, GPS mobility) were collected from intake to completion.
Results: Patients demonstrated 78.5% app engagement and 92% program satisfaction. From intake to completion, patients showed medium-to-large improvements in attenuated psychosis symptoms (d_z=+0.75), anxiety (d_z=+0.68), and depression (d_z=+0.61), with no significant change in sleep disturbance. Secondary measures moved in favorable directions, most notably self-worth/recovery (d_z=+0.75) and quality of life (d_z=+0.69). Passive sensing data revealed coherent behavioral patterns (diurnal activity rhythms, expected phone-use trends), and exploratory associations linked greater sleep continuity and GPS mobility diversity to lower symptom burden.
Discussion: These preliminary, single-arm findings suggest BEACON is feasible and acceptable for individuals with psychosis in real-world clinical settings, with encouraging clinical improvement and interpretable digital phenotyping signals. Further controlled trials are necessary to establish efficacy of the program, and key implementation barriers should be addressed.