What Does “At Risk” Mean?
Risk refers to how likely one is to experience a certain problem. Someone at low risk is less likely than someone at high risk to develop the problem.
We all probably carry some risk for psychosis, but some factors make people at higher risk than others. We now know that certain types or combinations of symptoms place someone at high risk to develop psychosis within the next year or more. However, even those at high risk may still be more likely not to develop psychosis than to develop psychosis. They are just at higher risk than others.
For some people, the symptoms will get better on their own, while for others, the symptoms may become more intense or problematic. Although we cannot yet predict with certainty who will and will not develop psychosis over time, we may have an opportunity to help someone not develop psychosis if we see them early enough.
There are a number of risk factors for psychosis. At CEDAR, we support people with the clinical signs and symptoms that indicate high risk for psychosis within a relatively short time frame. Our hope is to reduce risk for worsening symptoms.
