NAISS
SUPR
NAISS Projects
SUPR
BEGIN-SWE: Feasibility of Brief Psychoeducation for Individuals at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis
Dnr:

NAISS 2026/4-1835

Type:

NAISS Small

Principal Investigator:

Simon Cervenka

Affiliation:

Uppsala universitet, Department of Medical Sciences

Start Date:

2026-10-23

End Date:

2027-05-01

Primary Classification:

30215: Psychiatry

Webpage:

Allocation

Abstract

The project evaluates the feasibility of the Brief Educational Guide for Individuals in Need (BEGIN), a manualised, individually delivered psychoeducational intervention for individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR-p), within Swedish outpatient psychiatric care. BEGIN was developed at Mount Sinai Hospital and has been translated and adapted for a Swedish setting. Approximately 25% of individuals meeting CHR-p criteria develop a psychotic disorder within three years, and international guidelines recommend psychological and educational support rather than antipsychotic medication as first-line management. Standardised psychoeducation for this group is lacking, and no Swedish clinical guidelines for CHR-p exist. The study is a within-group pre-post feasibility study with a nested qualitative component. Participants (target n=15, aged 18-35) are recruited from the Early Intervention Psychosis Clinic at Uppsala University Hospital and from primary care. CHR-p status is established with the Structured Interview for Psychosis-Risk Syndromes (SIPS). Participants receive five individual BEGIN sessions over five weeks. Feasibility outcomes include attendance, homework completion, intervention fidelity and dropout. Self-report measures of symptoms, well-being, treatment motivation, stigma, quality of life, treatment credibility and knowledge of CHR-p are collected before and after the intervention and at follow-up. Semi-structured interviews are conducted before and after the intervention and audio recorded; transcripts are analysed thematically. This application concerns secure processing of audio-recorded research interviews and pseudonymised study data within the Bianca secure computing environment at UPPMAX: automated speech-to-text transcription of Swedish interview recordings (Whisper-based models on GPU), review and pseudonymisation of transcripts by authorised project staff, and storage of working copies of recordings, transcripts and quantitative data for analysis. Long-term storage of study data is on Uppsala University's Argos storage and in REDCap. The project is the first intervention study for the CHR-p group at Uppsala Centre for Preventive Psychiatry and forms the basis of two master's theses in psychology and a subsequent scientific publication. Ethics approval: Etikprövningsmyndigheten dnr 2026-01067-01. Principal investigator: Simon Cervenka, professor of psychiatry, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University.