In 2010, the Early Intervention Service (EIS) was expanded by the initiation of an age-overlapping specialized day-clinic for prodromal and first-episode psychoses patients aged 15-29 years.

In 2012 the EIS was further developed by the implementation of

1. a Hamburg-wide mental health literacy campaign to reduce duration of untreated illness (see → WWW. PSYCHENET.DE) and

2. an Integrated Care network with a specialized Therapeutic Assertive Community Treatment Team (TACT) for people with early psychosis.

Both interventions combined was found to reduce the duration of untreated psychosis and increase the recovery rate within one year by the factor of three (49% versus 15%).

The EIS sees about 600 patients per year and is closely linked to all clinical institutions of the department, especially the treatment units for people with severe mental illness.