Yorktown Family Services and Humber River Hospital are pleased to announce a new partnership that will support transitional age youth and young adults, ages 16 to 29, who have experienced first-episode psychosis. 

Humber River Hospital will refer patients (clients) that are exiting hospital supports to Yorktown Family Services. Yorktown Family Services will provide an Individual and Family Therapist that will support the client with Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Psychosis (CBTp) and family therapy. Yorktown Family Services will also provide a Care Navigation Worker who will connect the client and their family to additional resources and supports with respect to education, employment, recreation, primary health care, faith-based and culture, and social and pro-social engagement.   

The outcomes of this pilot project will ensure:

• Warm transition for the individual to Yorktown Family Services, through in-person and virtual means, while the patient is in the hospital to ensure a seamless transition. 
• Recommendations are carried through, and continuity of care remains stable, from Humber River and Yorktown. 
• Symptoms of psychosis continue to stabilize while the client is in the community. 
• Through Care Navigation, the client is connected to critical social activities to increase social engagement and decrease social isolation. 
• Continued psycho-education and family therapy for family members impacted by the client with psychosis to enhance capacity to provide support.  
• Quality of care and transition outcomes, including, reduced wait time for service, enhanced patient/person experience during the transition, and a reduction in hospital readmissions for similar issues related to psychosis. 
• Knowledge exchange between Yorktown Family Services and Humber River Hospital on CBTp, best practices in transitions, medication usage, and addressing further gaps in service. 
• Increased capacity across community-based organizations to engage and best service people with psychosis, that are between the ages of 16-29. 

Three out of every 100 people will experience an episode of psychosis in their lifetime. Psychosis usually begins for in the late teens and early twenties and early intervention both within hospital and community-based settings is critical to prevent escalation of symptoms later in life. 

We are excited to launch this joint pilot project and look forward to sharing the outcomes later this spring.