Substance use in early intervention services for psychosis

Purpose - This paper seeks to outline the nature of early intervention (EI) services in psychosis and to discuss substance use in clients in this setting. It considers ways of working with EI clients where substance use is an issue.Design methodology approach - The paper begins by outlining the nature of EI services and early psychosis, then goes on to discuss the impact and management of substance use in this setting.Findings - The authors argue that the El approach may be very appropriate for this subset of clients.Originality value - This paper focuses on the issues of treatment of dual diagnosis within a specialised area of mental service provision. EI services for psychosis aim to provide early detection and treatment of psychosis, particularly through increased emphasis on psychosocial interventions.