First Episode Psychosis Services: NAVIGATE
Psychosis requires intervention as soon as symptoms are detected.
For individuals who are experiencing the first signs of psychosis, we can help you and your family with resources to successfully navigate psychological and functional well-being.
NAVIGATE, an early-episode psychosis program is a team-based service for individuals living in Tulsa County, between the ages 16 and 30, who within the last 24 months have begun experiencing unusual thoughts and behaviors or have been hearing and seeing things that others do not.
HOPE STARTS HERE.
Are you or someone you love:
- Hearing sounds or voices or seeing things that others are not?
- Having thoughts or beliefs that appear strange to you and others?
- Withdrawing from family and friends?
- Feeling fearful or suspicious of others?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you may benefit from a mental health assessment.
Psychosis is more common than you think with approximately three in 100 people experiencing an episode in their lifetime.
- Call 918.560.2500 to learn more or make an appointment to see if you or your loved one is eligible for services.
- Then you and your family will have an initial screening with a provider to discuss your experience, answer questions and determine if the program would be a good fit.
- You will then meet the NAVIGATE team during a welcome meeting, discuss a treatment plan and set up initial appointments.
- Treatment begins and plans are based on individual needs.
Typically, individuals and families will work weekly with team members for three to nine months. This is followed by less frequent bimonthly or monthly services for nine to 24 months. After two years, teh team usually works with an individual to evaluate the next best steps to continue their recovery.
As a participant, you will:
- Increase coping skills and manage/reduce stress
- Monitor symptoms and learn signs of relapse.
- Increase role functioning through the supported employment and education service Individual Placement and Support, which can include vocational assessment, job development/placement, mob coaching and follow-along support.
- Learn resiliency by targeting personal well-being.
- Achieve your goals with the assistance of family support.
HOW SAMUEL FOUND HOPE WITH NAVIGATE
At 23-years-old, Samuel was experiencing “strange things.” For hours a day, the sky would change to night and he would see “shadow people” coming out of the trees. These hallucinations didn’t bother Samuel, but his boss, in the construction and remodeling industry, noticed him behaving oddly at work, wandering around and away from worksites. Samuel’s employer was worried not only for his safety. After Samuel explained his experiences, his employer had concerns about employing someone with a mental illness. While Samuel was confident in his ability to work, he took time off to get help from FCS’s NAVIGATE program.
Today, Samuel regularly attends therapy. His parents attend the Family Education component of NAVIGATE and Samuel recently returned to work in part because of NAVIGATE’s support and help with communication with his boss and co-workers through the supported employment service. This open conversation lessened concerns and stigma about mental illness in the workplace. Of course, like all of us he has good days and bad days, but with support, Samuel is able to work effectively through the struggles of mental illness.
Samuel, along with many other clients in NAVIGATE, has experienced the benefit of team-based treatment of early psychosis. There is hope.