Personal meaning of recovery among persons with schizophrenia

Background: Recovery in mental illness is not synonymous with cure. Personal recovery approach consider recovery as a process and not as an outcome. This approach takes into account the subjective meaning of recovery by assessing how a person has learned to accommodate and live with an illness. Aim:...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of social psychiatry 2023-02, Vol.69 (1), p.78-85
Main Authors: Mathew, Shari Tess, Nirmala, Bergai Parthsarathy, Kommu, John Vijay Sagar
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Clinical research
Cure
Drugs
Emotional instability
Humans
Illnesses
Interpretative phenomenological analysis
Interviews
Literature reviews
Meaning
Mental disorders
Qualitative Research
Recovery
Remission (Medicine)
Schizophrenia
Symptoms
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Summary:Background: Recovery in mental illness is not synonymous with cure. Personal recovery approach consider recovery as a process and not as an outcome. This approach takes into account the subjective meaning of recovery by assessing how a person has learned to accommodate and live with an illness. Aim: To study the personal meaning of recovery among persons with schizophrenia. Method: This article presents the findings of a qualitative study about what ‘recovery’ means to persons with schizophrenia. A semi structured interview schedule was prepared based on literature review and expert opinion. Twenty participants who met the inclusion criteria and personally consider themselves recovering/recovered from schizophrenia were selected for the in-depth qualitative interviews. Data was analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Meaning of recovery from each participant’s perspective was recorded. Findings: The results indicate factors that patients deem important for their recovery are, absence of symptoms, regaining functioning, being able to work, having adequate emotional stability and not being on medicines. The findings are examined in the background of the previous studies and suggestions for clinical practice and research is also discussed. Conclusion: Recovery is far more than remission of symptoms. Persons with mental illness has their own criteria of recovery, which could be very distinct from the clinical definition. Current study findings can help in identifying meaning of recovery through the perspectives of persons with mental illness and in developing and implementing recovery-oriented services.
ISSN:0020-7640
1741-2854
DOI:10.1177/00207640211068370