The Recognition and Management of Early Psychosis: A Preventive Approach (Second Edition) presents the field of early detection and early intervention in an interesting and informative format. It was written by international experts in the field and despite being a Second Edition has an entirely new content.

The book is divided in eight sections. Section 1 introduces the topic of early detection and early intervention and presents a ‘clinical staging model’ of psychosis which not only helps identifying the various stages in the development of psychosis, but also suggests targeted intervention strategies for each stage. This is followed by a sound section on Risk and Vulnerability, which gives a comprehensive and interesting review of recent literature about factors contributing to risk and vulnerability for psychosis, covering genetic factors, environmental factors, gene–environmental interactions as well as the evidence for neurobiological markers for psychosis. Section 3 of the book nicely provides an overview of how to identify and manage individuals with an at-risk mental state for psychosis. My only minor criticism is that the first chapter of this section discusses many of the topics covered in the previous section and despite being very well written it is a bit repetitive. Section 4 covers a number of projects aiming at reducing the duration on untreated psychosis. I particularly enjoyed reading the chapter written by Antony F. Jorm and Annemarie Wright which gives a very interesting overview of the perception of psychosis in countries across the world and explores methods to improve community awareness about mental health problems. Section 5 begins with a chapter on the assessment and pharmacological treatment of the first episode of psychosis. This is followed by an interesting chapter discussing the recovery phase after a first episode of psychosis. The chapter also gives clear recommendations for treatment by incomplete recovery. The section continues with a captivating chapter on prevention strategies of bipolar disorders. This is the only chapter on bipolar disorder which is not surprising as the early detection of bipolar disorder is a recent development in the field. The authors have done an excellent job in describing the possible application of methods and strategies used the early detection of psychosis to the early detection of bipolar disorder. At the same time they also point out that it will be necessary to adapt and modify the early detection and early intervention strategies to meet the needs of individuals affected by bipolar disorders. Section 6 provides a balanced view of the prevalence, assessment and treatment options of substance misuse, suicide, and emotional and personality dysfunction that are often encountered in the initial stages of the development of a psychotic illness. The seventh section of the book outlines specific interventions in early psychosis, covering family intervention, interventions aimed at enhancing work functioning and relapse prevention strategies. Section 7 concludes with a chapter on treatment resistance in the first episode and proposes a clear decision-making tree to guide the pharmacological treatment adaptations for treatment resistance. The final section of the book describes several early detection and early intervention teams from across the globe and offers the opportunity to compare and contrast different service models.

The book is appropriate for clinicians and academics interested in early detection and early intervention. It is undoubtedly a comprehensive source of information with many references to guide further reading and may also be a useful teaching tool for college and university courses on this topic. A strength of the manual is that it covers a variety of topics in early detection and early intervention and succeeds in illustrating the multi-disciplinary approach of the early stages of psychosis including community strategies, pharmacological treatments, family interventions as well as psychological treatments. This book is a clear and approachable presentation of early detection and early intervention, and I recommend it strongly.