Individual Resiliency Training (IRT)
A modular, individualized strengths-based psychosocial treatment for people recovering from a first episode of psychosis, and one of the pillars of the NAVIGATE coordinated specialty care model.
What IRT is
IRT is the individual therapy component of NAVIGATE, the team-based first episode psychosis program validated in the NIMH RAISE Early Treatment Program. It is designed for non-affective psychosis, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and schizophreniform disorder. IRT was originally delivered primarily as a one-on-one individual therapy, in contrast to SST which is predominantly designed as a group therapy to take advantage of peer modeling, feedback, and interaction. On a theoretical level, IRT blends psychoeducation, cognitive restructuring, and positive psychology (resiliency) to address overall illness self-management. SST is strictly rooted in social learning theory, relying on operant conditioning concepts like shaping, modeling, and overlearning.
Recovery after a first episode is highly variable, so IRT deliberately addresses every domain that can drive relapse or long-term disability, while building on what the person already does well. That second half is the point of the name: resiliency factors are treated as an active ingredient, not a nice-to-have.
The eight standard modules
Everyone in IRT receives these first. They are the foundation of individual treatment after a first episode. Select a module to read what it covers.
Individualized modules
After the standard modules, progress is formally reviewed and the person and clinician jointly choose what to work on next, based on the obstacles actually standing between them and their goals.
Dealing with Negative Feelings
Anxiety, depression, anger, and post-traumatic stress, addressed with cognitive and behavioral coping skills.
Coping with Symptoms
Persistent voices, unusual beliefs, and negative symptoms, with a menu of tested coping strategies practiced in session.
Substance Use
Motivational and harm-reduction work on cannabis, alcohol, and stimulants, integrated rather than referred out.
Having Fun & Developing Good Relationships
Three sub-modules: Having Fun, Connecting with People, and Improving Relationships, rebuilding the social world that psychosis narrows.
Developing Resiliency, Individualized Sessions
Extended, personalized resiliency work for those who want to go deeper than the standard sessions.
How IRT runs in practice
- Weekly individual sessions, typically 45 to 60 minutes, flexible in location, clinic, home, or community, so treatment fits the person's life rather than the reverse.
- Each session follows a consistent structure: review home practice, teach or practice a skill, then set the next piece of home practice.
- Handouts are shared with the person and, where they consent, with family, so IRT and Family Education stay aligned on the same information.
- Modules may be resequenced when clinically necessary, for example moving to Coping with Symptoms early when distress is high, or to the Wellness Plan straight after a hospitalization.
- Risk is monitored throughout, including structured suicide risk assessment, and IRT goals feed directly into the shared treatment plan held by the whole team.
Why we use it
IRT gives coordinated specialty care a disciplined individual therapy backbone. It turns abstract goals into scheduled steps, keeps psychoeducation consistent across the family, and treats physical health and substance use as core clinical work rather than afterthoughts.
At Pand Health, IRT sits alongside cognitive remediation, metacognitive training, social skills training, family work, and supported education and employment. The resiliency modules in particular pair naturally with our agency-building work: both start from what a person can still author in their own life.
Source: NAVIGATE Individual Resiliency Training Manual, revised April 2020.