The Standards Implementation Steering Committee (“The SISC”) is excited to spotlight the hard work of all the people who have been and are currently involved in EPION’s Fidelity project. Over the next four weeks we are going to be taking you along for the ride while we answer the who-what-where-why-how, wrap up the initial pilot, submit our final report, and prepare for the next phase. (more…)

MEDIA RELEASE: Friday August 3, 2018

EPION launches MyCannabisIQ public education campaign about risks of Cannabis use

On the eve of Cannabis legalization in Canada, the Early Psychosis Intervention Ontario Network (EPION) is launching a new MyCannabisIQ campaign to educate clinical staff, families, and young people about the risks involved with cannabis use. (more…)

IEPA is holding their elections for Vice Presidents of Europe and North America. In the running for VP of North America is EPION’s very own Dr. Chi Cheng! This is a wonderful opportunity to bring EPION’s expertise to the international table. We encourage any IEPA members to cast your vote for IEPA’s leadership. Voting ends July 6 (tomorrow!) at midnight! (more…)

On June 15, some 24 EPION members gathered from across the province.  We met at CAMH in Toronto in a ‘Transitions of Care’ Consultation specifically to address the issue of what comes after Early Intervention and how to support our clients in the transition from EPI programs. The group included a number of clinicians from several disciplines, an individual with lived experience and a family member, who also works as an EPI program Family Educator. (more…)

Most early psychosis intervention (EPI) programs are time limited with the goal to increase client independence and functioning so that they can eventually reintegrate into the community. However, while it is accepted that early intervention services lead to better outcomes; questions remain regarding the optimal duration of EPI programs. Recent studies have suggested that the benefits may plateau after 2 years, but this timeline may not apply for all clients. (more…)

The Slaight Centre Early Intervention Service (SCEIS) at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) recognized that current recovery outcomes are not good enough and we are called to do better.  As a result, giving patients experiencing early psychosis the best care possible and getting them into care quickly are two important goals of the SCEIS.  To meet these goals, SCEIS launched a new kind of evidence-based care model called NAVIGATE in November 2017.  (more…)

The EPION Metabolic working group is in the early stages of adapting their paper-based Cardiometabolic Risk Management tool to an interactive, user-friendly app. The Cardiometabolic Risk Management tool provides a structured way to screen and begin metabolic interventions for individuals with mental illness, according to Canadian guidelines. This electronic adaptation was inspired by feedback from the May 2014 EPION Think Tank on Metabolic Disturbances. (more…)

Earlier this year we put together a strategic plan for the next 3 years. Free free to download, read, and share by following the links below.

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The Canadian Consortium for Early Intervention in Psychosis (CCEIP) has developed a cannabis resource in a convenient tear-off pad format. The CCEIP has partnered with Schizophrenia Society of Ontario (SSO) and EPION to include our logos and share the resource with our members. The CCEIP has offered to print and mail this pad to all EPI programs across the province that are identified on EPION’s website (www.help4psychosis.ca), and has provided us with a pdf version so that additional copies can be printed freely. (more…)

EPION has created a number of tools for professionals to use when it comes to metabolic monitoring for individuals on antipsychotic medications. Metabolic monitoring requires regular reviewing of lifestyle and family history as well as tracking of weight, waist circumference, glucose and lipids. It can be challenging to manage this and track this data in a meaningful way. These resources are designed to help healthcare professionals to engage clients in discussions around healthy lifestyle choices and to empower them to set goals and share these with their healthcare team. (more…)