The Terrebonne Mental Health Center is one of two locations in Louisiana and 35 nationwide selected to participate in the National Institute of Mental Health’s Recovery after an Initial Schizophrenia Episode, or RAISE, project. the study will test whether early intervention can help those with recent signs of schizophrenia or related psychiatric disorders to stay well and function better.

The National Institute of Mental Health is the federal government’s research branch that focuses on studying mental illness and its treatment.

“Our primary mission, as always, is to provide the best treatment possible, and clients don’t need to qualify for the study to receive treatment.” said Lisa Schilling, executive director of the South Central Louisiana Human Services Authority. “Early intervention has long been viewed as critical to long-term success, and we are honored to be a part of a program like this.”

The study was paid for with $16 million in federal stimulus dollars, according to the American Recovery Act website, Recovery.gov, which tracks the progress of grants.

Schilling said the Terrebonne Mental Health Center is actively recruiting patients for the study. it must meet a quota of recruiting at least two new patients per month for the next year, or the center will be dropped from the study.

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that can make it difficult to tell the difference between real and unreal experiences, to think logically, to have normal emotional responses and to behave normally in social situations.

Schizophrenia and related serious mental-health disorders make up about 50 percent of the patients that come through the South Central Louisiana Human Services Authority programs for treatment, Schilling said.

With few mental health resources available in the region, Schilling said, “we see almost all of them.”

The local agency, which operates under the state Department of Health and Hospitals, sees about 10,000 patients a year. it works with Louisianans with issues related to addiction, mental health and developmental disabilities.

Schilling said there are only about 60 inpatient psychiatric beds in the area to hospitalize patients with severe mental illness. her agency treats locals on an outpatient basis.

Schizophrenia has proved one of the most expensive diseases to treat. the World Health Organization has rated schizophrenia the second-most burdensome disease in the world after heart disease.

Schizophrenia and related illnesses often strike young people in the prime of life. a third of all mental health care spending in the U.S. is spent on treatments for the disorder, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Schizophrenia also incurs many indirect costs, including time and money spent by the patient’s caregivers and law enforcement costs required when the disease isn’t managed properly.

The study will compare the effectiveness of early-treatment programs with traditional treatment. Early-treatment programs will be tailored to the patient’s needs, providing medication, therapy, family involvement, education and employment. the treatments will focus on reducing the patient’s symptoms and improving their ability to live a normal life.

“we have counselors and support staff working in all these areas,” said Sue Saia, Terrebonne Mental Health Center manager. “after a patient’s first psychotic break, we’ll give them all the support they need. we want to show that if you intervene early, this doesn’t have to be a tragedy in their life. it can be managed like any other mental illness.”

The study pays for the patients’ care, as well as a percentage of the salaries of local staff who treat them. the study also offers small incentives to participants for signing up.

The study is recruiting people between the ages of 15 and 40 who are experiencing the early stages of schizophrenia and related disorders, Saia said.

Symptoms include hallucinations, delusions and strange thinking patterns. You must not have taken antipsychotic medication for more than four months.

You also must live in Terrebonne, Lafourche, Assumption, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist or St. Mary parishes, the areas served by Terrebonne’s Region 3 state-run mental health center.

If you’re interested in participating in the study, contact Project Director Brooke Guidry at 858-2989 or Saia at 985-857-3615 ext. 109. You can also e-mail .

More information is available online at raiseetp.org.

Staff Writer Nikki Buskey can be reached at 857-2205 or nicole.buskey@houmatoday.com.