A systematic review of specialized psychosocial and complex psychosocial interventions for early psychosis, early depression, early bipolar disorder, and early borderline personality disorder.

BACKGROUND

This systematic review evaluates specialized psychosocial and complex interventions for early bipolar disorder (BD), early borderline personality disorder (BPD), early depression, early psychosis, and first-episode mental illness in general (FEMI).

METHODS

We included systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of interventions with psychosocial components, excluding trials that focused on pharmacological-only interventions and stand-alone psychotherapies. Searches were conducted in January 2023 across five databases. Review quality was assessed using AMSTAR-2 and risk of bias for RCTs using the Cochrane tool.

RESULTS

Ten studies met the inclusion criteria: seven reviews and three RCTs. High-to moderate-quality evidence supports complex psychosocial interventions combined with pharmacotherapy for early psychosis. The most robust effects were reductions in relapse and improvements in psychosocial functioning; additional benefits were observed for symptom burden, remission, treatment discontinuation, and hospital admissions. Benefits were most sustained in longer-duration, community-based programs. For early BD, limited evidence suggests that combining pharmacotherapy with family-focused therapy or structured psychoeducation may improve the course of illness and treatment satisfaction. One RCT in early BPD reported improved engagement with a developmentally tailored program. Two FEMI RCTs found that nurse-led psychoeducation and psychosocial programs improved in-patient duration, symptoms, insight, self-efficacy, quality of life, and engagement. No eligible studies addressed early-stage depression, indicating a notable evidence gap for multimodal psychosocial interventions.

CONCLUSIONS

Complex psychosocial interventions are strongly supported for early psychosis. Preliminary data in BD, BPD, and FEMI suggest consistent benefits for engagement, but further rigorous trials - especially in early depression - focusing on different outcomes - are required.