Evidence-based interventions for vocational recovery in first-episode psychosis: A meta-analysis of…

ReviewThe Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry· Aug 2026

Evidence-based interventions for vocational recovery in first-episode psychosis: A meta-analysis of employment and education rates.

Oscar Gonzalo, Juan Luis Sánchez-González, Alba Sánchez-Gil … Jesus Perez

Psychotic DisordersReviewTreatmentQ1IF 3.3

Individual Placement and Support nearly triples competitive employment odds after first-episode psychosis

Evidence-based interventions for vocational recovery in first-episode psychosis: A meta-analysis of employment and education rates.

Oscar Gonzalo … Jesus Perez

The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry · Aug 2026 · Q1 in Psychiatry

Background

Young people with first-episode psychosis experience high rates of disruption in work and education and consistently describe vocational participation as a core priority of recovery.

Purpose

This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of evidence-based interventions in improving employment and education rates after a first-episode psychosis.

Methods

Risk of bias (RoB2), Risk of Bias in Non-randomised Studies - of Exposure and certainty of evidence Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation were assessed.

n = 8651

Results

IPS support nearly triples the odds of gaining competitive employment

OR by subgroup · 95% CI

More results

No intervention showed a consistent advantage for education rates (odds ratio = 1.19, 95% CI 0.80-1.76).

The combined endpoint showed substantial heterogeneity ( I 2 = 69.6%, τ 2 = 0.296, p < 0.001) and possible publication bias, limiting interpretability (odds ratio = 2.02, 95% CI 1.29-3.17).

“

Conclusion

Our findings support integrating structured, evidence-based vocational support - particularly Individual Placement and Support - as a routine component of services for early psychosis, specifically for patients with employment goals.

Evidence-based interventions for vocational recovery in first-episode psychosis: A meta-analysis of employment and education rates.

Evidence-based interventions for vocational recovery in first-episode psychosis: A meta-analysis of employment and education rates.

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