What is the Pand... Difference?
Why do so many people struggling with debilitating thought disorders needlessly fail to recover quality lives?
Why do so many people struggling with debilitating thought disorders needlessly fail to recover quality lives? They fall victim to unnecessarily diminished expectations because no one around them knows that a better way exists - The question is why? Decades of research have shown that maximal recovery requires more than medications alone. That same research has yielded novel therapies for the symtpoms of psychosis that are not sufficiently improved with medications, yet very few clinicians lknow that these therapies exist, even fewer have seen a patient who received these advanced treatments and virtually none have the technical skills or experience to deliver this care.
California OnTrack: the evolution of psychosis care.
California OnTrack was conceived from foundational cognitive neuroscience and our biological understanding of psychosis.California OnTrack' was conceived from the bottom up, beginning with a foundational cognitive neuroscience and knowledge of normal brain function. To learn more about and the systems biology underpinning our state-of-the-art treatment program see our tutorial Computational Psychiatry and the Science fo Psychosis.
Recovery SHOULD be the expectation, not the exception!
Our difference...a higher standard Research-based, outcome-driven specialty programming.
Our flagship program, California OnTrack provides early and effective treatment solely to individuals who are experiencing an episode of disordered thinking or perception (aka psychosis). The core structure of our programs adhere to the clinically trialed and proven NAVIGATE & OnTrackNY Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) frameworks for first episode psychosis. [See What is CSC]. We have extended the standard CSC to offer treatment to those with chronic psychosis, as well as, offer support to people with the co-occurring conditions typically excluded elsewhere. Moreover, we have expanded the CSC treatment core to include a full cognitive enhancement curriculum, physical conditioning, behavioral family therapy groups for caregivers, "Clubhouse", as well as other highly specialized therapies like Metacognitive Training for psychosis (MCTp), Social Cognition and Interaction Training (SCIT). Combining many interventions in coordination produces gains across multiple domains and faster, longer-lasting improvement than any single piece on its own. In sum, every technique or treatment we offer was selected because it was proven effective in controlled clinical trials. California OnTrack leverages cutting-edge therapy with compassion equally, as we seek to break the stigma associated with mental illness. Our goal is to reduce the duration of untreated psychosis and achieving recovery through shared decision making, but our mission is to help you, create the best life worth living.
THREE ANCHORS OF OUR AUGMENTED CSC MODEL
Intensive social skills training, daily cognitive remediation, and supported education & employment — the three interventions most predictive of returning to school, work, and the relationships that make recovery feel real.
Our Mission
To set a new standard for early intervention and recovery-oriented care for thought disorders — combining clinical precision, compassion, and the latest evidence-based modalities so every young person in our care can return to a meaningful life.
Our Vision
A world where psychosis is detected early, treated expertly, and never sentences a young person to a smaller life — where functional recovery is the expectation, not the exception.
Our Values
Clinical rigor without shortcuts. Family partnership at every step. Respect for neurodivergent identity. A commitment to outcome transparency and continuous improvement.
Explore the team and the work
Meet our clinicians, see published outcomes, hear from families, and learn why our model works.
What is CSC, or Augmented-CSC vs Treatment as Usual
Before diving into the NAVIGATE pillars, it helps to frame the bigger picture. Treatment as Usual (TAU) — the standard community mental-health response to a first psychotic episode — is reactive and fragmented: a crisis, an emergency visit, a prescription, and sparse follow-up. Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC) replaced that model with a team-based, recovery-oriented system validated by the NIMH RAISE trials. Augmented-CSC layers additional evidence-based modules onto that foundation — cognitive remediation, metabolic monitoring, digital relapse detection, and family-led coaching — to close the gaps the original RAISE cohort still experienced.
Treatment as Usual (TAU)
The reactive baseline
- ● Crisis-driven: care starts only after a hospitalization or ER visit
- ● Multiple uncoordinated providers with little shared planning
- ● Medication-first, often without side-effect shared decision-making
- ● Family, school, and work involvement is incidental, not structured
- ● No standardized outcome tracking or relapse-prevention protocol
Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC)
The RAISE / NAVIGATE standard
- ● Team-based: one multidisciplinary team with a shared treatment plan
- ● Personalized, low-dose medication with shared decision-making
- ● Resiliency Training (IRT) as the psychosocial core
- ● Supported employment & education (IPS / SEE) built in
- ● Family education as a structured, trauma-informed module
Augmented-CSC
Closing the recovery gap
- ● Cognitive Remediation Therapy (CRT) for residual cognitive deficits
- ● Proactive metabolic & cardiovascular monitoring
- ● Digital phenotyping & early relapse-detection tools
- ● Family-led coaching extending support beyond the clinic
- ● Outcome dashboards tracking functional recovery, not just symptoms
The evidence is clear: in the RAISE-ETP trial, CSC outperformed TAU across symptom control, quality of life, and school/work participation — with medication discontinuation rates roughly a quarter of TAU. Augmented-CSC is the next step: the same coordinated backbone, expanded to address the cognitive and physical-health dimensions that still limit long-term recovery. The sections below walk through that backbone first, then the augmentations.
The Expansion Horizon
New modalities bridging the gap to full holistic recovery.
Cognitive Remediation (CR)
An evidence-based behavioral intervention using computerized restorative task practice and clinician-led strategy coaching to improve memory, attention, and executive function.
STRIDE Protocol
Rigorous lifestyle interventions tailored for those on antipsychotics to combat the 11–14 year life expectancy gap.
Cultural Bridge Integration
Lived-experience specialists engage young adults who feel alienated by traditional clinical hierarchies.
Metacognitive Training (MCT)
Focuses on the process of thought — debiasing 'jumping to conclusions' — rather than challenging delusion content directly.
Social Cognition & Interaction Training (SCIT)
Targets social-cognitive deficits — misreading cues, jumping to conclusions about others' intentions — that drive paranoia and isolation.
Clubhouse Model
A community-based psychosocial rehabilitation model where members — not patients — work side-by-side with staff to run the clubhouse, building vocational confidence, social connection, and a recovery-oriented identity.
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