For this California teen, coverage of early psychosis treatment proved a lifesaver

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A program that offers intensive early treatment to people with severe mental illness aims to save taxpayers money that might otherwise be spent on costlier, emergency interventions.

, treated by a team of psychiatrists, therapists, educational specialists, and peer and family advocates. She was often at the clinic two to three times a week — more if she was going through a bad stretch, like cutting herself or stealing Benadryl to overdose.

Summer didn’t have to pay for any of it, including her two stays at mental health hospitals and another at a local intensive care unit. Her mother, Sheri Oriyavong, never had to negotiate coverage. Without Medi-Cal and Sacramento County paying the bills, “it would just be too much,” she said. Summer Oriyavong has learned how to recognize her triggers and symptoms, and she’s on track to graduate high school early. With her is her mom, Sheri, in their home in Rio Linda, Calif.

In most cases, schizophrenia first appears in men during their late teens or early 20s. In women, it often strikes during their 20s or early 30s. Research shows that early interventions, including medications and therapy,Extending such treatment to the estimated 27,000 Californians expected to develop psychosis each year remains a massive undertaking, with only a tenth as many slots available statewide, Niendam told lawmakers at an Assembly budget hearing in mid-April.

Advocates believe taxpayers will save money in the long run by helping patients hold down a job and avoid becoming homeless.

 

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