Yellowbrick offers services which appreciate the fears and concerns associated with the onset of psychosis in emerging adulthood. Extreme Experiences is organized to address these apprehensions amongst both emerging adults and their families. Following medical and neuroimaging workups to rule out non-psychiatric causes for the onset of psychosis, services target the key elements associated with deterioration in the research literature and clinical experience working with early onset psychosis. The good news is that research demonstrates that early and intense targeted interventions can affect the life-long trajectory of these conditions.

Extreme Experiences services include:

• Education and ongoing support for emerging adults and families to understand the illness and specifically to address and counteract stigma.
• ReCognition: Research demonstrates that cognitive impairment is at the nucleus of many of the symptomatic pathways in psychotic illness.
• Neuromodulation: Quieting the brain’s disrupted networking through pharmaco-genomically guided medication strategies combined with techniques such as neurofeedback and alpha-stimulation. Active management of adverse, self-damaging effects of medication such as weight gain.
• Promotion of brain hygiene through integrative nutrition, exercise and sleep enhancement.
• Occupational therapy for developing executive functioning and life skills as well as the development of meaningful, purposeful and satisfying activity; work, volunteering, education, etc.
• Support for not engaging in behaviors which activate the psychotic process such as substance use, excess gaming, etc.
• Support for socialization and membership in the Yellowbrick Community of emerging adult peers. Isolation promotes psychosis. Relationships nourish our brains and promote growth and healing.
• Mindfulness training for distress tolerance in the face of psychotic symptoms.
• Mind-body integration exercises and psychiatrically informed yoga to counteract detachment from the body self.
• Support for seeking and sustaining needed medical care.