ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the case of “Fran,” a 17-year-old Mormon female at high-risk for developing psychosis, who had a number of bizarre symptoms, including feeling that her pet fish were spying on her, and came to us on a number of medications, will be discussed. The chapter will present the two-pronged approach that was used to treat her symptoms, both by decreasing her medication load as well as by developing a very unique and personalized psychotherapeutic approach to dealing with her symptoms; namely, by developing a mantra, “Be a Hiruti,” to remind Fran of the emotional and psychological depth that she had, as exemplified by her favorite geisha Hiruti (not a real geisha), and that she could use to better understand her symptoms. In this chapter the meaning of “clinical high-risk” and “prodromal” will be discussed, as well as the many other nonspecific symptoms people may have before they become psychotic.
