EPS: Early Psychosis Screener
Predict conversion to psychosis at 12 months
Schizophrenia affects about 1% of the world’s population, and there has been little progress on effective treatment. There is growing evidence that if individuals with attenuated psychotic syndrome (APS) or first episode psychosis (FEP) can be identified and treated early, their prognosis might be greatly improved.
TeleSage developed the EPSI (Early Psychosis Screener for Internet) to predict the likelihood of an individual’s conversion to psychosis within 12 months. The paper version of the screener (EPS-26) is available for free download here. The EPSI and EPS-9 are newer free online assessments which use machine learning to assess whether the individual might be advised to see a clinician or retake the assessment in the near future. The EPS-9 is a brief version using the nine most informative self-report questions from the EPSI.
EPS-9: Brief Online Survey
The EPS-9 uses the most informative nine self-report questions from the EPSI and can be taken for free.
After completing the assessment, individuals may be advised that their results are most similar to those of people who were NOT at increased risk of developing a psychotic disorder. Some individuals may be advised that their results are most similar to those of people who might benefit from an in-person evaluation from a licensed clinician. Since people’s results may change over time, individuals may be advised to seek rescreening in about six weeks.
EPSI: Full Online Assessment
The EPSI estimates 12-month psychosis risk using 64 simple self-report survey items and machine learning.
After completing the assessment, individuals may be advised that their results are most similar to those of people who were NOT at increased risk of developing a psychotic disorder. Since people’s results may change over time, individuals may be advised to seek rescreening in about six weeks. Some individuals may be advised that their results are most similar to those of people who might benefit from an in-person evaluation from a licensed clinician. The results of the screening can be brought into a clinician’s office for further assessment.
– AVAILABLE SOON –
EPS-26: Paper Assessment
The paper version of the Early Psychosis Screener consists of a series of simple self-report screening questions. If the individual scores above a certain threshold, they are considered to be at greater risk for psychosis.
The EPS-26 is available for free download.
Regardless of the results of self-report surveys, if an individual believes he/she is suffering from a mental illness, he/she should seek an in-person evaluation from a licensed clinician.
“In their paper “The Early Psychosis Screener (EPS): Quantitative Validation against the SIPS Using “Machine Learning”, Brodey et al. (2018) share compelling preliminary evidence in support of their newly created Early Psychosis Screener (EPS). Creation of the EPS differed relative to other more established measures, as an expert panel was employed for item development, modification, and selection, and cognitive interviewing techniques were implemented before field testing to promote stronger construct validity, with the ultimate goal of improving accuracy of true risk prediction. The EPS also benefited from having North America’s largest CHR research network in NAPLS, as well as COPE, as its validation sample. Additionally, a machine learning analytic approach leveraged cutting-edge statistics to optimize the number and type of items included in the measure to improve efficiency. An important set of questions for psychosis-risk screening research is to determine what screener to use, when, with whom, and how. The EPS should now be added to the conversation.”
JASON SCHIFFMAN
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHIATRY
Contact us for more information about the EPS.
Behavioral Health Diagnoses and Outcomes
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514 | USA
866.942.8849
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