Programma 2000: celebrating 10 years of activity of an Italian pilot programme on early intervention in XXXX .

@entity1 @entity716
OBJECTIVE: This paper describes the structure and the organization of the single Italian programme specifically targeted at the early detection of and interventions for subjects at onset of or at high risk of @entity716 , Programma 2000. METHODS: Programma 2000 is a comprehensive multi-modal protocol of early intervention in @entity716 , set up in Milan in 1999. The service has been very active since its opening, and at the time of writing (spring (April) 2008), more than 300 young @entity1 have been evaluated through a detailed protocol that embraces Health of the Nation Outcome Scale (HoNOS), Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), Cognitive Behavioural Assessment 2.0, Disability Assessment Schedule, Camberwell Family Interview, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and the Early Recognition Inventory Retrospective Assessment of Symptoms. The treatment includes psychoeducation, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), both structured and unstructured psychosocial interventions and pharmacotherapy, when necessary. RESULTS: The programme focuses on young @entity1 aged 17-30 years: to date, a total of 132 subjects with definite @entity716 or within the high-risk category have been enrolled in treatment after assessment. @entity1 with first-episode @entity716 were, on average and expectedly, more severe than those in the at-risk group, and were more likely to be prescribed antipsychotic drugs. A large majority of @entity1 in both groups received tailored CBT; individual sessions of skills training were provided to two-thirds of @entity1 . In both groups, improvement was found in both the BPRS and HoNOS, and in the level of global functioning as assessed on Global Assessment of Functioning at 6 month and 1 year follow up. Global functioning was more sensitive to change than symptom severity, reflecting the intensive and personalized efforts to improve social and role functioning in @entity1 . CONCLUSIONS: Programma 2000 is still in development but it has already gained the support of therapists and other relevant @entity1 involved in the life of subjects at onset, or at high risk of @entity716 .
