Transforming Early Psychosis Care through Supported Employment and Education in Peru

Supported employment and education can transform early psychosis care by helping young people recover through work and study. This project will launch Peru’s first national implementation of the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model for youth with early psychosis. The Foundation Phase (Year 1) will build a multi-sector partnership across health, labour, and education to co-adapt IPS—an evidence-based model that integrates vocational and educational recovery into mental health care. Co-designed with young people, caregivers, employers, lived-experience leaders, and policymakers, this phase will ensure cultural and contextual fit, and sustainability. It will: (1) establish governance through a Steering Committee and Youth Lived-Experience Advisory Panel; (2) deliver IPS co-adaptation workshops and develop Spanish manuals and training materials; (3) create an employer and education engagement framework and inclusion toolkit; and (4) design a hybrid effectiveness–implementation trial protocol, public and patient involvement plans, and dissemination strategies. The Impact Phase (Years 2–6) will evaluate IPS within Peru’s community mental-health network, assessing effects on education, employment, functioning, and recovery, and examining implementation feasibility and cost-effectiveness. Findings will guide a national scale-up roadmap co-produced with government and lived-experience partners, including validated implementation tools, and financing mechanisms. Keywords: Early psychosis; Supported employment; Early intervention services; Lived experience co-production.