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Atlas entry · Maine

The PIER Program for early psychosis

Last verified July 28, 2026 · Checked against an official source

First-Episode Psychosis / Coordinated Specialty CareRural & Telepsychiatry Access

Verified facts

Program
PIER Program (Psychosis Intervention and Early Referral)
Organization
MaineHealth Institute for Research and Maine Medical Center Department of Psychiatry
Location
Portland, Maine

Reported by the program

The program describes the following on its official information, reviewed on July 28, 2026.

Who it serves
The program works with young people experiencing early or first-episode psychosis, and their families, and it offers services across Maine both in person and through telehealth. It also runs a newer stepped-care arm, the Community Hope and Resources for Psychosis program, for people at risk for psychosis.
How the model works
PIER uses a coordinated specialty care, team-based approach that the program describes as combining therapy, family psychoeducation, support for school and work, case management, medication management, peer support, and community outreach. The program says its funding comes from the Mental Health Block Grant through the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.
Where it sits
PIER is part of the Maine Medical Center Department of Psychiatry and the MaineHealth Institute for Research, and it's based at Maine Medical Center, 66 Bramhall Street, in Portland.

shrinkiatry context

Coordinated specialty care for first-episode psychosis is one of the better-evidenced models in psychiatry, built around catching psychosis early and wrapping a single team around the young person and family. PIER is Maine's program in that tradition, and its statewide telehealth reach matters in a rural state where getting to a specialty team can be hard. It sits inside an academic department and research institute, and it pairs the first-episode team with an at-risk, stepped-care arm. For a primary care clinician or a school in Maine, it's a concrete place to refer a young person showing early warning signs, rather than a diagnosis in search of a service.

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Sources

  1. MaineHealth Institute for Research, PIER Program (official program pages). https://mhir.org/pier-home/
  2. Maine Department of Health and Human Services, early intervention and first-episode services. https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/obh/support-services/mental-health-services/early-intervention

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