ABSTRACT

The Early Intervention Programme for Psychotic Patients (RIPEPP) has existed at Sveti Ivan psychiatric hospital in Zagreb since 2005. The RIPEPP programme involves patients at Sveti Ivan hospital receiving either inpatient or outpatient treatment who are in the 'critical period' of their psychotic disorders, within 5 years of the appearance of their first symptoms. The RIPEPP programme is intended for patients with acute psychotic disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, delusional disorder, or bipolar affective disorder with psychosis, and it includes both patients and their family members. The goals also include the adequate education of patients and their families as to the causes, onset, clinical presentation, and treatment of their disorder, as well as insight into early signs of the disorder. The entire staff is trained in psychotherapy in the psychodynamic theoretical framework, and all employees have completed training as group analysts, group therapists or cognitive behavioural therapists.