Experiences of a Digital Mental Health Intervention from the Perspectives of Young People Recovering from First-Episode Psychosis: A Focus Group Study

Abstract

Horyzons is a digital health intervention designed to support recovery in young people receiving specialized early intervention services for first-episode psychosis (FEP). Horyzons was developed in Australia and adapted for implementation in Canada based on input from clinicians and patients (Horyzons–Canada Phase 1) and subsequently pilot-tested with 20 young people with FEP (Horyzons–Canada Phase 2). Objective: To understand the experiences of young adults with FEP who participated in the pilot study based on focus group data. Methods: Among the twenty individuals that accessed the intervention, nine participated across four focus groups. Three team members were involved in data management and analysis, informed by a thematic analysis approach. A coding framework was created by adapting the Phase 1 framework to current study objectives, then revised iteratively by applying it to the current data. Once the coding framework was finalized, it was systematically applied to the entire dataset. Results: Four themes were identified: (1) Perceiving Horyzons-Canada as helpful for recovery; (2) Appreciating core intervention components (i.e., peer networking; therapeutic content; moderation) and ease of use; (3) Being unaware of its features; and (4) Expressing concerns, suggestions, and future directions. Conclusions: Horyzons-Canada was well received, with participants wanting it to grow in scale, accessibility, and functionality.