Creating more hope than ever for young people with psychosis

CAMH Foundation Annual Report 2005 - 2006

Just before her 16th birthday - when most teenage girls are hanging out with friends, going out on dates and dreaming of life after high school - Marie Asuncion was experiencing paranoia, feeling anxious and hearing voices. After several weeks of increasing symptoms, Marie had a full-blown episode of psychosis and was rushed to the hospital for assessment. At the time, Marie and her family were not aware that this was only the first of many changes to come.

Shortly after, Marie was referred to CAMH, where she was diagnosed with first episode psychosis and learned that she had an imbalance of dopamine, an essential chemical transmitter in the brain. Marie was constantly praying that this “thing” would just go away, and hid her illness from teachers and friends for fear of stigma. Once an “A” student, Marie remembers becoming disorganized at school, losing her friends, and feeling afraid and isolated. “I was clinging to the hope that I would get better soon - but it never happened until I started visiting CAMH regularly and taking my medication daily.”

Marie was treated at the First Episode Psychosis Clinic, one of five elements that comprise CAMH’s First Episode Psychosis Program (FEPP). The FEPP is a comprehensive program designed to meet the needs of young people experiencing a first episode of psychosis, helping them and their families with the initial period of recovery and adjustment. The program’s other services are the prime Clinic (Prevention through Risk Identification, Management and Education); the learn Clinic (Learning Employment Advocacy Recreation Network); fact - Peel (First Assessment Clinical Team) and hip (Home Intervention for Psychosis). Through the FEPP, families like the Asuncions receive the support they need to get their health and their lives back on track.

Over the years, Marie has learned to recognize her symptoms and to act quickly to get help when they begin to re-emerge. She continues to see her therapist, Allison Schneider, every two weeks, and her psychiatrist, Dr. Irvin Epstein, once a month to help manage her illness and maintain a positive balance in all areas of her life.

This fall, Marie will enter her fourth year at the University of Toronto. In addition to numerous extracurricular activities and leadership initiatives, Marie is a regular speaker for Beyond the Cuckoo’s Nest, a CAMH public education program that aims to increase high school students’ awareness and understanding of mental illness. Marie also acts as a spokesperson for the prime Clinic, encouraging young people who may be at risk of psychosis to seek help early in an effort to prevent or delay the development of the illness.

An accomplished harpist, Marie finds a comforting outlet in her music. When she graduates from university, she plans to become a music teacher; she currently gives private piano lessons as well as teaching group music lessons at a children’s camp. Thanks to her passion for music, faith in God, and support from friends, family and CAMH, Marie is able to live a life full of possibility.

Recent advances in early detection and intervention for a range of mental illnesses have dramatically improved the trajectory of these conditions for many patients and clients. In the future, genetics, imaging, and cognitive neuroscience will help individualize medication and therapy for each person, further improving the long-term prognosis for clients such as Marie.

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