Amal Abdel-Baki

Université de Montréal | UdeM · Department of Psychiatry

Previous research has highlighted many of the challenges faced by individuals with psychosis in romantic relationships. The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of a novel group intervention for men with first-episode psychosis (FEP) on dating success, romantic and sexual functioning, self-esteem, self-stigma, mentalizing skills, and symptoma...

Aims: The objective of this study is to underline the impact of Gaming Disorder on the clinical evolution of patients with First Episode Psychosis. The specific aims of the study are to determine the prevalence of gaming disorder among those patients and assess the consequences of gaming on their clinical trajectory. Methods: This is a prospective...

The use of long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotic drugs for psychotic disorders in Canada has been historically low compared to other jurisdictions despite advantages of LAIs in improving medication adherence and preventing relapse. In response, treatment recommendations were developed in 2013 by the Canadian Consortium for Early Intervention i...

Innovative technology-based solutions have the potential to improve access to clinically proven interventions for cannabis use disorder (CUD) in individuals with first episode psychosis (FEP). High patient engagement with app-based interventions is critical for achieving optimal outcomes. 104 individuals 18 to 35 years old with FEP and CUD from thr...

Background The limited available data suggest that the prevalence of problem gambling is increased among young adults with first-episode psychosis, possibly due in part to several risk factors for problem gambling that are common in this population. Aripiprazole, a widely used antipsychotic drug, has also been linked to cases of problem gambling, b...

Objectives: Although the risk of suicide is high in first-episode psychosis (FEP), little is known about the course of suicidal ideation and its relation to suicide attempts. Therefore, we aimed to identify 5-year trajectories of suicidal ideation and associated factors in FEP and compare how suicide attempts were distributed across these identifie...

Background: Telepsychiatry has the potential to facilitate access to mental health services for young people with first-episode of psychosis (FEP); however, limited attention has been given regarding the perceptions of mental health providers in this regard. Objective: To assess service providers' perceptions on the use of telepsychiatry and cha...

Background A growing number of studies highlight the importance of emotion regulation in the treatment and recovery of individuals with psychosis and concomitant disorders such as substance use disorder (SUD), for whom access to integrated dual-disorder treatments is particularly difficult. In this context, dedicated smartphone apps may be useful t...

Background The limited available data suggest that the prevalence of problem gambling is increased among young adults with first-episode psychosis, possibly due in part to several risk factors for problem gambling that are common in this population. Aripiprazole, a widely used antipsychotic drug, has also been linked to cases of problem gambling, b...

Aim: Dropping out of psychological interventions is estimated to occur in up to a third of individuals with psychosis. Given the high degree of attrition in this population, identifying predictors of attrition is important to develop strategies to retain individuals in treatment. We observed a particularly high degree of attrition (48%) in a recen...

Background: Cannabis use is most prevalent among adolescents and young adults, and frequent consumption is associated with cannabis use disorder (CUD) and psychosis, with a high prevalence (up to 50%) of CUD in individuals with first-episode psychosis (FEP). Early Intervention Services (EIS) for psychosis include face-to-face psychosocial intervent...

Objective: Despite increasing recognition of the difficulties faced by persons with psychosis with respect to intimacy and sexuality, there is a lack of valid and reliable instruments to measure these areas of functioning in this population. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties (i.e., construct and convergent validity, internal...

Résumé Le trouble bipolaire est l’une des pathologies chroniques les plus invalidantes pour laquelle le délai d’accès au diagnostic et aux soins adéquats est de près de dix ans, ce qui a pour conséquences des comorbidités plus nombreuses, une plus grande sévérité de la maladie et une résistance aux traitements. S’inspirant des progrès de l’interven...

Objectives Specialized early intervention for psychosis can reduce the duration of untreated psychosis and improve clinical and functional outcomes. However, poor adherence to treatment is frequent. The literature on community treatment orders (CTOs) use in first-episode psychosis (FEP) as a means to improve treatment adherence is limited. In the c...

Background Although the risk of suicide is high in first-episode psychosis (FEP), little is known about the course of suicidal ideation and its relation with suicide attempts. Aims To identify five-year trajectories of suicidal ideation and associated factors in FEP and compare how suicide attempts were distributed across these identified trajecto...

Introduction : Although the risk of suicide is high in first-episode psychosis (FEP), little is known about the course of suicidal ideation and its relation with suicide attempts. Therefore, we aimed to identify five-year trajectories of suicidal ideation and associated factors in FEP and compare how suicide attempts were distributed across these i...

Aims: High rates of mental illness among individuals experiencing homelessness, as well as documented contacts with psychiatric services prior to episodes of homelessness, indicate that early intervention could play a key role in homelessness prevention. Decision-makers and clinical teams need longitudinal data on housing trajectories following in...

BACKGROUND Cannabis use is most prevalent among adolescents and young adults, and frequent consumption is associated with cannabis use disorder (CUD) and psychosis, with a high prevalence (up to 50%) of CUD in individuals with first episode psychosis (FEP). Early Intervention Services (EIS) for psychosis include face-to-face psychosocial interventi...

Background Cannabis use is the most prevalent among adolescents and young adults; frequent consumption is associated with cannabis use disorder (CUD) and psychosis, with a high prevalence (up to 50%) of CUD in individuals with first-episode psychosis (FEP). Early Intervention Services (EIS) for psychosis include face-to-face psychosocial interventi...

PurposeTo describe long term clinical and functional outcomes of schizophrenia in a developed country.Method Long term longitudinal study of clinical and functional outcomes of incidence cohort of all consecutive admissions for a first hospitalization for schizophrenia between 1983 and 1987 in Montreal, Canada (n = 142). Data collection was conduct...

Objectives: To describe, in a naturalistic setting, the impact of the early use of LAI-AP on functional outcomes of early psychosis patients as compared to oral antipsychotics (OAP). Methods: Longitudinal prospective 3-year naturalistic study of all consecutive admissions (n = 416) to two Early intervention services (EIS) for psychosis comparing...

Introduction: Limited evidence exists on the implementation of telepsychiatry within the context of early intervention services for psychosis, the need for which has become even more relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic. To address this gap, we investigated the experiences and perspectives of young adults recovering from a first-episode psychosis...

Introduction Multiple stakeholders have recently called for greater research on the barriers to citizenship and community belonging faced by people with mental health challenges. Citizenship has been defined as a person’s access to the rights, roles, responsibilities, resources and relationships that help people feel a sense of belonging. Factors t...

As many as 43% of methamphetamine users will have a psychotic episode in their lifetime. Of these, 30% will develop a primary psychotic disorder, such as schizophrenia. The current state of the literature does not currently allow us to determine who will develop a primary psychotic disorder following a methamphetamine-induced psychosis (MIPD). This...

Background: Compared to treatment as usual (TAU), early psychosis intervention programs (EPI) have been shown to reduce mortality, hospitalizations and days of assisted living while improving employment status. Aims: The study aim was to conduct a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and a cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) to compare EPI and TAU in Canad...

BACKGROUND Given the strong evidence for their effectiveness, early intervention services for psychosis (EIS) are being widely implemented. However, heterogeneity in the implementation of essential components, remains an ongoing challenge. Rapid learning health systems (RLHS), that embed data collection in clinical settings for real-time learning a...

Background: Given the strong evidence of their effectiveness, early intervention services (EIS) for psychosis are being widely implemented. However, heterogeneity in the implementation of essential components remains an ongoing challenge. Rapid-learning health systems (RLHSs) that embed data collection in clinical settings for real-time learning a...

Background Social anxiety (SA), a prevalent comorbid condition in psychotic disorders with a negative impact on functioning, requires adequate intervention relatively early. Using a randomized controlled trial, we tested the efficacy of a group cognitive-behavioral therapy intervention for SA (CBT-SA) that we developed for youth who experienced the...

Introduction Early intervention services for psychosis (EIS) are associated with improved clinical and economic outcomes. In Quebec, clinicians led the development of EIS from the late 1980s until 2017 when the provincial government announced EIS-specific funding, implementation support and provincial standards. This provides an interesting context...

BACKGROUND The use of social robots as innovative therapeutic tools has been increasingly explored in recent years in an effort to address the growing need for alternative intervention modalities in mental health care. OBJECTIVE The aim of this scoping review was to identify and describe social robot interventions in mental health facilities and t...

Impacts of comorbid severe substance use disorders (SUD) on first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients can, in some cases, be extremely serious (dangerousness, suicidality, homelessness). Traditional treatment approaches for SUD may unfortunately fail or not be acceptable to them. Impacts of mandatory residential SUD treatment (RT) are sometimes integr...

PurposesTo better assess and reduce suicidal risk in first-episode psychosis (FEP), we aimed to investigate the evolution of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) and associated factors in FEP.Method This systematic review (PROSPERO-CRD42020168050) meets PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, Medline, PsycINFO, Embase, EBM Reviews and references lists of rele...

In homeless youth, severe mental illness is an endemic and a serious issue that profoundly impacts this vulnerable population and warrants specific, comprehensive interventions. This chapter reviews the phenomenon, including the mutual interaction between youth homelessness and severe mental illness, its epidemiology, and its broad psychosocial ass...

Background: Given the strong evidence for their effectiveness, early intervention services for psychosis (EIS) are being widely implemented. However, heterogeneity in the implementation of essential components, remains an ongoing challenge. Rapid learning health systems (RLHS), that embed data collection in clinical settings for real-time learning...

Objective To investigate whether first-episode psychosis patients receiving extended early intervention (EI) had better functional outcomes than those in regular care and to examine the predictors of functional outcomes. Methods This is a randomized controlled single-blind trial of 220 patients randomized after two years of EI to receive EI or reg...

Aim: To explore the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic first wave in Quebec, Canada on practices in early intervention services (EIS) for first-episode psychosis, including reorganization of clinical and administrative practices and teleconsultation use. Methods: Adopting a cross-sectional descriptive study design, a 41 questions online survey was...

Objectives The emergence of early intervention for first episode psychosis (FEP) in the 1990s represents a major advance in mental health. It was demonstrated that by providing intensive interventions tailored to the specific needs of youth at the onset of FEP, it became possible to sustainably improve their subsequent course. This model of early i...

Objective To describe the implementation of early intervention for psychosis in 3 French-speaking countries, the challenges encountered and potential facilitators for successful implementation. Methods Narrative synthesis of the scientific and grey literature on early intervention for psychosis programs implementation in the French-speaking world....

Objectives To synthesize the available epidemiological and clinical evidence relevant to the mental health care of migrant, ethnic minority and Indigenous populations in the context of early psychosis. Methods This study provides a narrative review of the literature on psychosis in these populations, including issues related to the provision of ear...

Objectives Based on clinical experience and literature, this article aims to stimulate reflection among the actors involved concerning the organization of services and the interventions to be favored with young people living both a first episode of psychosis and a situation of residential instability or homelessness. The objective of this article i...

Objectives About half of young adults with early psychosis also have substance use disorders (SUD). For young adults with first episode psychosis (FEP), the persistence of SUD negatively impacts the symptomatic and functional outcome as well as the management of the problems. This article aims to identify and synthetize the best therapeutic approac...

Objectives In recent years, issues related to physical health took on a major role in the care of youth who experienced a first episode psychosis (FEP). Compared to the general population, people with a psychotic disorder have a reduced life expectancy of 15 years, with physical health problems accounting for 60 to 70% of that part. With the increa...

Objectives This article aims to synthesize the critical stages in the development of early detection and intervention services (EIS) for psychosis over the past 30 years, and to review key literature on the essential components and effectiveness of these programs. Method We conducted a narrative review of the literature on the international develop...

Introduction Mounting evidence has begun establishing a link between cannabis use and adverse psychotic outcomes in patients affected by psychosis. However, we have yet to determine if this relationship is maintained when controlling for important confounding variables. As such, the following systematic review aims to investigate if the association...

Background The persistence of cannabis use disorder (CUD) in young adults with first-episode psychosis (FEP) is associated with poor clinical and functional outcomes. Face-to-face psychological interventions are effective in treating CUD. However, their use in early intervention services (EISs) for psychosis is inconsistent because of barriers, inc...

Objectives: To describe the experience of Adventure Therapy (AT) in young adults with first-episode psychosis, and how it relates to their recovery process. Method: We conducted individual, semi-structured interviews with 15 participants, immediately following, and six months after a four-day adventure expedition. A thematic analysis was performed...

People with psychotic disorders are at higher risk of not completing an educational degree and tend to get low-wage jobs. We offered computer coding classes to 14 participants. The training was deemed feasible, acceptable, and appeared to increase their motivation for school or work, not only in computer-related domains.

Aim The COVID‐19 pandemic has introduced many mental health professionals to therapy via videoconferencing. Mostly individual teletherapy has been offered and studied, although group therapy is often offered in clinics. In fact, little is known regarding group therapy's acceptability, feasibility, and potential impact when offered via videoconferen...

BACKGROUND Persistence of cannabis use disorder (CUD) in young adults with first episode psychosis is associated with poor clinical and functional outcomes. Face-to-face psychological interventions are effective in treating CUD. However, their use in early intervention services (EIS) for psychosis is inconsistent due to barriers including high work...

Aim While most users will not experience severe adverse health outcomes from cannabis, it can be associated with negative outcomes in people with psychosis. People with psychosis who use cannabis have more severe psychiatric symptoms, higher rates of hospitalization, and diminished psychosocial functioning compared to those who do not use cannabis....

Introduction : La relation de collaboration entre l’infirmière et la personne hospitalisée contre son gré lors d’un premier épisode psychotique est importante pour son rétablissement, mais comporte de nombreux défis. Peu d’études ont comparé les perspectives des infirmières et des personnes soignées quant à leur relation idéale dans ce contexte. Bu...

Drawing from the perspectives of 18 youth (characterized as adherent, ambivalent, nonadherent), 13 relatives and 8 clinicians, this qualitative study, using semi-structured individual interviews and a focus group, explores why individuals suffering from early psychosis accept or refuse treatment. Identity and relationships, understanding of the dia...

Deficits in social functioning are especially severe amongst schizophrenia individuals with the prevalent comorbidity of social anxiety disorder (SZ&SAD). Yet, the mechanisms underlying the recognition of facial expression of emotions—a hallmark of social cognition—are practically unexplored in SZ&SAD. Here, we aim to reveal the visual representati...

Objective: We aimed to investigate whether individuals with first-episode psychosis (FEP) receiving extended early intervention (EI) were less likely to experience suicidal ideation and behaviors than those transferred to regular care after 2 years of EI. Another objective was to examine the 5-year course of suicidality in FEP. Methods: We condu...

Cost-effectiveness studies of early intervention services (EIS) for psychosis have not included extension beyond the first 2 years. We sought to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a 3-year extension of EIS compared to regular care (RC) from the public health care payer's perspective. Following 2 years of EIS in a university setting in Montreal, Can...

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the social and economic activities of the world. Social distancing measures put in place by public health authorities have indirectly increased the level of stress and reduced the number and quality of social interactions maintained by individuals. Because biological sex and socio-cultural gender are i...

Objectives It has been suggested that taking physical activity (PA) preferences into account would facilitate PA initiation and maintenance in people with serious mental illness. The objective of the present study was to describe the PA preferences and barriers of individuals with serious mental illness. Equipment and methods Participants complete...

Aim We investigated whether individuals varied in their satisfaction with being randomized to an extension of early intervention (EI) for psychosis or regular care after 2 years of EI, and whether satisfaction was associated with service engagement 3 years later. Methods Following randomization, patients (N = 220) indicated if they were happy with...

Motivational theory-based interventions are known to be effective for increasing physical activity (PA) in the general population but their effects in people with severe mental illness are poorly understood. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis on the effect of these interventions on PA and cardiometabolic risk factors. A systematic search of ra...

Aim To assess the feasibility, acceptability and potential impact of a cognitive behavioural group intervention occurring over 12 sessions and focusing on romantic relationships for single men with early psychosis. Methods Recruitment, drop‐out and participation rates were collected. An A‐B‐A within‐subject design (n = 7), where each participant a...

Objective: The attitudes of mental health professionals towards consumers' recovery are far more pessimistic than what is needed for the recovery-orientation to truly permeate systems of care. It has become pressing to depict determinants for these attitudes and how they evolve during professionalization. This, in the hopes to adjust not only medi...

Early relapse is frequent in the first-episode psychosis (FEP), often because of poor adherence to medication. Previous studies have shown positive impacts of long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAI-AP) on relapse rates, while others have discerned no differences. This study describes the impact of early LAI-AP utilization on relapse and rehospi...

Persistent use of cannabis in persons with psychosis is associated with poor symptomatic and functional outcomes and increased healthcare costs. Face-to-face psychological interventions (e.g., Cognitive Behavioral Therapy- [CBT], Motivation Enhancement Therapy- [MET]) are widely used in treating problematic cannabis use. We aimed to comprehensively...

Background Limited knowledge exists on telepsychiatry in specialized services for first-episode psychosis (FEP), despite its potential for improving service access and engagement.Objective To explore access and use of technology, obstacles to attending clinic appointments, and perspectives of young adults with FEP on using telepsychiatry as part of...

Background: Physical inactivity is a key contributor to the global burden of disease and disproportionately impacts the wellbeing of people experiencing mental illness. Increases in physical activity are associated with improvements in symptoms of mental illness and reduction in cardiometabolic risk. Reliable and valid clinical tools that assess p...

Purpose: While a healthy lifestyle would be an asset to people experiencing psychotic disorders, not all mental health professionals provide counselling regarding healthy behaviours, such as physical activity, healthy nutrition, and tobacco cessation. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to investigate the factors associated with healt...

Youth homelessness is a complex phenomenon as well as an important public health issue often compounded by mental illness of varying severity, in turn creating numerous deleterious consequences. While emergency health services usage remains high, access to mental health services is arduous and conventional interventions often fall short on providin...

Background: Physical inactivity is a key contributor to the global burden of disease and disproportionately impacts the wellbeing of people experiencing mental illness. Increases in physical activity are associated with improvements in symptoms of mental illness and reduction in cardiometabolic risk. Reliable and valid clinical tools that assess ph...

Introduction Over the last 30 years, early intervention services (EIS) for first-episode psychosis (FEP) were gradually implemented in the province of Quebec. Such implementation occurred without provincial standards/guidelines and policy commitment to EIS until 2017. Although the literature highlights essential elements for EIS, studies conducted...