Ken Duckworth, M.D. Nami Medical Director has written about the RAISE Study:

“Findings from Dr. Kane’s RAISE=ETP study revealed that the impact of coordinated specialty care intervention was much stronger if the person had had psychosis symptoms for less than 74 weeks.

This shows how critical it is to make access to services easier, and to improve awareness and attitudes toward people seeking help if they have symptoms of psychosis.

This is consistent with previous findings that show that it matters how soon a person gets help: There is an ideal window of time in which to get the best services to people with early schizophrenia.”

This isn’t news to me and hasn’t been news to me at all. My memoir Left of the Dial verifies that getting treatment within 24 hours enabled me to have a better life for the rest of my life. No kidding.

Critics think the cost of first-episode psychosis treatment (FEP) might be too high to justify this new model of enhanced care. Stop right there. Human beings experiencing first-episode psychosis should not be left to get sicker and sicker while the government and consumers and haters dicker and bicker over whether we should spend the money or even provide treatment at all.

Just a thought: the research is promising yet real-life stories corroborate the truth: early intervention results in a better life-long outcome. My friend with schizophrenia got treatment within five days when he was 13 and he rose up to become the CEO of corporations.

I tell you: recovery is not only possible it’s probable when a person gets the right treatment right away. I will do what it takes to advance recovery for everyone and not only that I champion remission for everyone too.

We might not get there in my lifetime–it’s possible not everyone will recover and that the number will remain at near 75 percent.

Yet recovery and remission for everyone is the best goal. I’m willing to fight for this even if it won’t be possible in my lifetime.

We must each of us dream big because the gutter is nowhere to keep our sights set–even if other people aim to keep us there.

I’ll end here by saying rise up–don’t settle for average or ordinary. It’s just as easy to dream big as it is to settle for less.

Shoot for recovery because you’re worth it.