Sarah Kamens

Private Practice, Independent Scholar, Clinical Psychologist

SUNY: Old Westbury, Psychology, Faculty Member

Private Practice, None, Clinical Psychologist

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Previously:
SUNY Old Westbury (Assistant Professor of Psychology)
Wesleyan University (Postdoctoral Fellow & Visiting Professor of Psychology)
Yale School of Medicine (Predoctoral Fellow in Adult Community Mental Heath & Postdoctoral Associate - Specialized Treatment Early in Psychosis)
Fordham University (MA/PhD in Clinical Psychology)
European Graduate School - Division of Philosophy, Art, and Critical Thought (MA in Communication)
New York University (BA in English and American Literature & Psychology)

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The duration of untreated psychosis: a phenomenological study

by Sarah Kamens and Emily Hyun

Mounting evidence has indicated that early intervention leads to improved clinical and functional... more Mounting evidence has indicated that early intervention leads to improved clinical and functional outcomes for young persons experiencing recent onset psychosis. As part of a large early detection campaign, the present study aimed to investigate subjective experiences during the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), or time between psychosis onset and treatment contact. Participants were 10 young adults participating in early intervention services for psychosis. After DUP was estimated during standardized baseline assessment, participants engaged in qualitative interviews focused on their life experiences prior to treatment and leading up to the present. Mixed methods data analyses compared standardized DUP estimates with participants’ subjective narratives. Findings revealed that participants experienced and conceptualized a longer trajectory of subjective difficulties (TSD) beginning before and extending beyond standardized DUP estimates. Participants emphasized striving for independence and social belonging. The majority of participants reported benefiting from their current services and believed that earlier support of some kind would have been beneficial. These findings support previous research on subjective barriers to early detection and treatment seeking in young adults experiencing psychosis. Implications and future research directions include further efforts to differentiate the struggles unique to early psychosis from psychosocial risk factors and other challenges of young adulthood.

Extreme States and Extreme Conditions: On Homelessness and the Ontico-ontological Difference

This article was part of the 2018 invited Journal of Humanistic Psychology Special Edition titled... more This article was part of the 2018 invited Journal of Humanistic Psychology Special Edition titled “Humanistic Perspectives on Understanding and Responding to Extreme States” edited by Michael Cornwall, Ph.D. It briefly examines the intersections between extreme psychological states and extreme structural conditions of the world. Drawing on the work of Martin Heidegger and Louis Sass, I argue that heightened focus on ontological–existential matters during extreme states often comprises (rather than eschews) a meaningful and humanistic response to extreme worldly conditions. At the center of this article are the stories of two persons who offered generosity and hospitality toward the everyday community of other humans while experiencing both extreme psychological states and extreme structural conditions. On a recent blustery night in Brooklyn, I exited a subway car and ascended the stairs toward the station's doors. As I ascended, large windows came into view, right next to double doors through which commuters stream in and out. Huddled against the window was a woman with bare legs and tattered

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