Our Mission

The EQUIPS research lab conducts research around psychosis-spectrum experiences, with an emphasis on psychosocial factors and access to care. Our projects have complementary aims and an overarching goal of improving the lives of individuals experiencing psychosis-spectrum symptoms through research, education, outreach, and care provision.

Our Current Projects

Clinical High-Risk for Psychosis (CHiRP) Program

The CHiRP program at UMBC’s Strive for Wellness Clinic is a hybrid project that integrates research and clinical services to provide consultation, evaluation, medication, and therapy to individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis and their families and providers. Through a client-centered and recovery-oriented approach, CHiRP aims to: Improve social and role functioning and quality of life among clients; Reduce the severity of psychosis-risk symptoms and other mental health concerns; Prevent or delay progression to formal psychosis; Curb the burden of First Episode of Psychosis (FEP) through stepped care; and Increase community awareness of CHR through community outreach and specialized training.

Maryland Early Intervention Program (Maryland EIP)

The Maryland Early Intervention Program (Maryland EIP) offers specialized expertise in the early identification, evaluation, and comprehensive psychiatric treatment of psychosis-spectrum disorders, including clinical high risk for psychosis. The EQUIPS lab’s component of the Maryland EIP project involves providing annual evaluations to individuals between the ages of 12-25 years old, including a comprehensive diagnostic and psychosis-spectrum assessment and the provision of provide diagnostic feedback and treatment recommendations to clients and families. Additional efforts in this project include connecting clients and families in underserved communities — like those in rural Maryland — with the resources and care they need for early identification and intervention.