Qualitative research on the lived experience of psychosis: A methodological review
Published:
Oct 15, 2020
Keywords:
Lived experience Phenomenology Psychosis Qualitative research
Abstract
This paper provides a methodological review of qualitative studies on the lived experience of psychosis. It aims to present the main research trends on psychotic experience and to assess their usefulness and appropriateness for examining the role of social factors in the emergence, experience and management of psychosis. The following trends are presented: (a) the phenomenological approach, which aims to identify the essence of psychotic experience, (b) the narrative and dialogical approaches, which focus on the constitution of the self in psychosis through the examination of self-narratives, (c) the social constructionist approach, which, through analysing the discourse of persons in distress, examines the construction of mental distress,
and finally (d) empirical studies employing thematic type qualitative analysis on interviews with persons in distress in order to highlight their experiences and views regarding various aspects of their life with psychosis. For each of the approaches, the paper addresses: (a) its epistemological paradigm, (b) the view of psychosis and mental distress adopted, (c) the research methodology used regarding data collection and analysis, (d) the main findings and conclusions, and (e) the role attributed to social factors and processes.
Article Details
- How to Cite
-
Γεωργάκα Ε. (2020). Qualitative research on the lived experience of psychosis: A methodological review. Psychology: The Journal of the Hellenic Psychological Society, 20(4), 397–412. https://doi.org/10.12681/psy_hps.23599
- Issue
- Vol. 20 No. 4 (2013)
- Section
- THEORETICAL REVIEWS
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The journal PSYCHOLOGY adopts a Platinum open-access policy. Submission, processing or publication costs are waived by the Hellenic Psychological Society. Papers published in the journal PSYCHOLOGY are licensed under a 'Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International' licence. The authors reserve the copyright of their work and grant the journal the right of its first publication. Third-party licensees are allowed to use the published paper immediately after publication as they wish, provided they retain the defined by the license copyright formalities, regarding the reference to its author(s) and its initial publication in the journal PSYCHOLOGY. Moreover, any adjusted work should be shared under the same reuse rights, so with the same CC license.
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Abba, N., Chadwick, P., & Stevenson, C. (2008). Responding
mindfully to distressing psychosis: A
grounded theory analysis. Psychotherapy Research,
, 77-87.
Benson, A., Secker, J., Balfe, e., Lipsedge, M.,
Robinson, S., & Walker, J. (2003). Discourses of
blame: Accounting for aggression and violence
on an acute mental health inpatient ward. Social
Science & Medicine, 57, 917-926.
Boydell, K. M., Stasiulis, e., Volpe, T., & Gladstone, B.
(2010). A descriptive review of qualitative studies
in first episode psychosis. Early Intervention in
Psychiatry, 4, 7-24.
Bracken, P., & Thomas, P. (2005). Post-psychiatry:
Mental health in a postmodern world. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Browne, G., & Courtney, M. (2005). Housing, social
support and people with schizophrenia: A
grounded theory study. Issues in Mental Health
Nursing, 26, 311-326.
Burns, M., & Gavey, N. (2004). “Healthy weight” at
what cost? ‘Bulimia’ and a discourse of weight
control. Journal of Health Psychology, 9(4), 549-
Byrne, R., Davies, L., & Morrison, A. P. (2010). Priorities
and preferences for the outcomes of treat-
u Ευγενία Γεωργάκα
ment of psychosis: A service user perspective.
Psychosis, 2(3), 210-217.
Canvin, K., Bartlett, A., & Pinfold V. (2002). A “bittersweet
pill to swallow”: Learning from mental
health service users’ responses to compulsory
community care in england. Health and Social
Care in the Community, 10(5), 361-369.
Carrick, R., Mitchell, A., Powell, R. A., & Lloyd, K.
(2004). The quest for well-being: A qualitative
study of the experience of taking antipsychotic
medication. Psychology & Psychotherapy: Theory,
Research & Practice, 77, 19-33.
Cheung Chung, M. (2007). Conceptions of
schizophrenia. In M. Cheung Chung, K. W. M.
Fulford & G. Graham (eds.), Reconceiving
schizophrenia (pp. 29-62). Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Crossley, M. L. (2000). Introducing narrative psychology:
Self, trauma and the construction of meaning.
Buckingham: Open University Press.
Dilks, S., Tasker, F., & Wren, B. (2008). Building
bridges to observational perspectives: A grounded
theory of therapy processes in psychosis. Psychology
& Psychotherapy: Theory, Research &
Practice, 81, 209-229.
Dilks, S., Tasker, F., & Wren, B. (2010). Managing the
impact of psychosis: A grounded theory exploration
of recovery processes in psychosis. British
Journal of Clinical Psychology, 49, 87-107.
Dillon, J., & May, R. (2003). Reclaiming experience.
Openmind, March/April, 119-120.
France, C. M., & Uhlin, B. D. (2006). Narrative as an outcome
domain in psychosis. Psychology & Psychotherapy:
Theory, Research & Practice, 79, 53-67.
Geanellos, R. (2005). Adversity as opportunity: Living
with schizophrenia and developing a resilient self.
International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 14,
-15.
Gee, L., Pearce, e., & Jackson, M. (2003). Quality of
life in schizophrenia: A grounded theory approach.
Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 1, 1-
Geekie, J. (2004). Listening to the voices we hear:
Clients’ understandings of psychotic experiences.
In J. Read, L. R. Mosher & R. P. Bentall
(eds.), Models of madness: Psychological, social
and biological approaches to schizophrenia (pp.
-160). Hove: Brunner-Routledge.
Geekie, J., & Read, J. (2008). Fragmentation, invalidation
and spirituality: Personal experiences of
psychosis – ethical, research and clinical implications.
In J. F. M. Gleeson, e. Killackey & H.
Krstev (eds.), Psychotherapies for the psychoses:
Theoretical, cultural and clinical integration (pp.
-199). Hove: Routledge.
Georgaca, e. (2000). Reality and discourse: A critical
analysis of the category of “delusions”. British
Journal of Medical Psychology, 73, 227-242.
Georgaca, e. (2013). Social constructionist contributions
to critiques of psychiatric diagnosis and
classification. Feminism & Psychology, 23(1), 56-
Georgaca, e. (2014). Discourse analytic research on
mental distress: A critical overview. Journal of
Mental Health, 23(2), 55-61.
Georgaca, e., & Avdi, e. (2012). Discourse analysis.
In A. Thompson & D. J. Harper (eds.), Qualitative
research methods in mental health and psychotherapy:
A guide for students and practitioners
(pp. 147-162). Chichester: Wiley.
Goldsmith, L. P. (2012). A discursive approach to narrative
accounts of hearing voices and recovery.
Psychosis, 4(3), 235-245.
Gonzalez-Torres, M. A., Oraa, R., Aristegui, M., Fernandez-
Rivas, A., & Guimon, J. (2007). Stigma
and discrimination towards people with
schizophrenia and their family members: A qualitative
study with focus groups. Social Psychiatry
& Psychiatric Epidemiology, 42, 14-23.
Harper, D. J. (1995). Discourse analysis and “mental
health”. Journal of Mental Health, 4, 347-357.
Holma, J., & Aaltonen, J. (1997). The sense of agency
and the search for a narrative in acute psychosis.
Contemporary Family Therapy, 19(4), 463-
Holma, J., & Aaltonen, J. (1998). Narrative understanding
in acute psychosis. Contemporary Family
Therapy, 20(3), 253-263.
Humberstone, V. (2002). The experiences of people
with schizophrenia living in supported accomodation:
A qualitative study using grounded theory
methodology. Australian & New Zealand Journal
of Psychiatry, 36, 367-337.
Hornstein, G. A. (2011). Bibliography of first-person
narratives of madness in English (5th ed.).
Ανακτήθηκε από www.gailhornstein.com/works.
htm στις 4/9/2013.
Hornstein, G. A. (2013). Whose account matters? A
challenge to feminist psychologists. Feminism &
Psychology, 23(1), 29-40.
Ποιοτική διερεύνηση της βιωμένης εμπειρίας της ψύχωσης: Μεθοδολογική ανασκόπηση u 409
Johnstone, L. (1999). Adverse psychological effects
of eCT. Journal of Mental Health, 8(1), 69-85.
Johnstone, L. (2012). Voice hearers are people with
problems, not patients with illnesses. In M.
Romme & S. escher (eds), Psychosis as a personal
crisis: An experience-based approach (pp.
-36). Hove: Routledge.
Judge, A. M., estroff, S. e., Perkins, D. O., & Penn, D.
L. (2008). Recognizing and responding to early
psychosis: A qualitative analysis of individual narratives.
Psychiatric Services, 59, 96-99.
Kinderman, P., Setzu, e., Lobban, F., & Salmon, P.
(2006). Illness beliefs in schizophrenia. Social Science
& Medicine, 63, 1900-1911.
Knight, M. T. D., Wykes, T., & Hayward, P. (2003).
People don’t understand’: An investigation of
stigma in schizophrenia using interpretative phenomenological
analysis. Journal of Mental Health,
, 209-222.
Koivisto, K., Janhonen, S., & Vaisanen, L. (2004). Patients’
experiences of being helped in an inpatient
setting. Journal of Psychiatric & Mental Health
Nursing, 11, 268-275.
Kraus, A. (2007). Schizophrenic delusion and hallucination
as the expression and consequence of
an alteration of the existential a prioris. In M. Cheung
Chung, K. W. M. Fulford & G. Graham (eds.),
Reconceiving schizophrenia (pp. 96-112). Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
LaFrance, M. N. (2007). A bitter pill: A discursive analysis
of women’s medicalized accounts of depression.
Journal of Health Psychology, 12(1),
-140.
LaFrance, M. N., & Stoppard, J. (2006). Constructing
a non-depressed self: Women’s accounts of recovery
from depression. Feminism & Psychology,
(3), 307-325.
Laing, R. D. (1959). The divided self. Harmondsworth:
Penguin.
Lam, M. M. L., Pearson, V., Ng, R. M. K., Chiu, C. P.
Y., Law, C. W., & Chen, e. Y. H. (2010). What
does recovery from psychosis mean? Perceptions
of young first-episode patients. International
Journal of Social Psychiatry, 57(6), 580-587.
Larsen, J. A. (2004). Finding meaning in first episode
psychosis: experience, agency and the cultural
repertoire. Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 18(4),
-471.
Leiviskä Deland, A. C., Karlsson, G., & Fatouros-
Bergmann, H. (2011). A phenomenological analysis
of the psychotic experience. Human Studies,
, 23-42.
Lewis, S. e. (1995). A search for meaning: Making
sense of depression. Journal of Mental Health, 4,
-382.
Lysaker, P. H., Davis, L. W., eckert, G. J., Strasburger,
A. M., Hunter, N. L., & Buck, K. D. (2005).
Changes in narrative structure and content in
schizophrenia in long term individual psychotherapy:
A single case study. Clinical Psychology
& Psychotherapy, 12, 406-416.
Lysaker, P. H., Lancaster, R. S., & Lysaker, J. T.
(2003). Narrative transformation as an outcome in
the psychotherapy of schizophrenia. Psychology
& Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice,
, 285-299.
Lysaker, P. H., & Lysaker, J. T. (2002). Narrative structure
in psychosis: Schizophrenia and disruptions
in the dialogical self. Theory & Psychology, 12,
-220.
Lysaker, P. H., & Lysaker, J. T. (2004). Dialogical
transformation in the psychotherapy of
schizophrenia. In H. J. M. Hermans & G. Dimaggio
(eds.), The dialogical self in psychotherapy
(pp. 205-219). Hove: Brunner-Routledge.
Lysaker, P. H., & Lysaker, J. T. (2006). Psychotherapy
and schizophrenia: An analysis of requirements
of an individual psychotherapy for persons
with profoundly disorganized selves. Journal of
Constructivist Psychology, 19, 171-189.
Lysaker, P. H., & Lysaker, J. T. (2008). Schizophrenia
and the fate of the self. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Martindale, B. (2012). Psychiatry at the crossroads:
The limitations of contemporary psychiatry in validating
subjective experiences. In M. Romme & S.
escher (eds), Psychosis as a personal crisis: An
experience-based approach (pp. 7-16). Hove:
Routledge.
Marwaha, S., & Johnson, S. (2005). Views and experiences
of employment among people with psychosis:
A qualitative descriptive study. International
Journal of Social Psychiatry, 51, 302-316.
Mauritz, M., & van Meijel, B. (2009). Loss and grief in
patients with schizophrenia: On living in another
world. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 23, 251-
McCarthy-Jones, S., Marriott, M., Knowles, R., Rowse,
G., & Thompson, A. R. (2013). What is psychosis?
A meta-synthesis of inductive qualitative
u Ευγενία Γεωργάκα
studies exploring the experience of psychosis.
Psychosis, 5(1), 1-16.
McGowan, J. F., Lavender, T., & Garety, P. A. (2005).
Factors in outcome of cognitive-behavioural therapy
for psychosis: Users’ and clinicians’ views.
Psychology & Psychotherapy: Theory, Research &
Practice, 78, 513-529.
Møller, P., & Husby, R. (2000). The initial prodrome in
schizophrenia: Searching for naturalistic core dimensions
of experience and behavior.
Schizophrenia Bulletin, 26, 217-232.
Nithsdale, V., Davies, J., & Croucher, P. (2008). Psychosis
and the experience of employment. Journal
of Occupational Rehabilitation, 18, 175-182.
Nixon, G., Hagen, B., & Peters, T. (2010). Recovery
from psychosis: A phenomenological inquiry. International
Journal of Mental Health and Addiction,
, 620-635.
Noiseux, S., & Ricard, N. (2008). Recovery as perceived
by people with schizophrenia, family
members and health professionals: A grounded
theory. International Journal of Nursing Studies,
, 1148-1162.
O’Toole, M. S., Ohlsen, R. I., Taylor, T. M., Purvis, R.,
Walters, J., & Pilowsky, L. S. (2004). Treating first
episode psychosis - the service users’ perspective:
A focus group evaluation. Journal of Psychiatric
& Mental Health Nursing, 11, 319-326.
Parnas, J., & Sass, L. A. (2002). Self, solipsism and
schizophrenic delusions. Philosophy, Psychiatry
& Psychology, 8, 101-120.
Pitt, L., Kilbride, M., Welford, M., Nothard, S., & Morrison,
A. P. (2009). Impact of a diagnosis of psychosis:
User-led qualitative study. Psychiatric Bulletin,
, 419-423.
Powell, J., & Clarke, A. (2006). Information in mental
health: Qualitative study of mental health service
users. Health Expectations, 9, 359-365.
Raballo, A., & Larøi, F. (2011). Murmurs of thought:
Phenomenology of hallucinatory consciousness
in impending psychosis. Psychosis, 3(2), 163-166.
Roe, D., Hasson-Ohayon, I., Kravetz, S., Yanos, P. T.,
& Lysaker, P. H. (2008). Call it a monster for lack
of anything else: Narrative insight in psychosis.
Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 196, 859-
Roe, D., & Lysaker, P. H. (2012). The importance of
personal narratives in recovery from psychosis. In
J. Geekie, P. Randal, D. Lampshire & J. Read
(eds.), Experiencing psychosis: Personal and professional
perspectives (pp. 5-14). Hove: Routledge.
Rofail, D., Heelis, R., & Gournay, K. (2009). Results of
a thematic analysis to explore the experiences of
patients with schizophrenia taking antipsychotic
medication. Clinical Therapeutics, 31 (Suppl. 1),
-1496.
Romakkaniemi, M., & Järvikoski, A. (2012). Service
users’ perceptions of shared agency in mental
health services. European Journal of Psychotherapy
and Counselling, 14(4), 381-394.
Rose, D., Fleischmann, P., & Wykes, T. (2004). Consumers’
views on electroconvulsive therapy: A
qualitative analysis. Journal of Mental Health,
(3), 285-293.
Sarbin, T. R. (Εd.) (1986). Narrative psychology: The
storied nature of human conduct. New York:
Praeger.
Sass, L. A. (1992). Madness and modernism. New
York: Basic Books.
Sass, L. A. (2001). Self and world in schizophrenia:
Three classic approaches. Philosophy, Psychiatry
& Psychology, 8(4), 251-270.
Sass, L. A., & Parnas, J. (2003). Self, consciousness
and schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 29,
-444.
Sass, L. A., & Parnas, J. (2007). explaining schizophrenia:
The relevance of phenomenology. In M. Cheung
Chung, K. W. M. Fulford & G. Graham (eds.),
Reconceiving schizophrenia (pp. 63-96). Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Schon, U. K., Denhov, A., & Topor, A. (2009). Social
relationships as a decisive factor in recovering
from severe mental illness. International Journal of
Social Psychiatry, 55, 336-347.
Stanghellini, G. (2001). Psychopathology of common
sense. Philosophy, Psychiatry & Psychology, 8(2-
, 201-218.
Stein, C. H., & Wemmerus, V. A. (2001). Searching for
a normal life: Personal accounts of adults with
schizophrenia, their parents and well-siblings.
American Journal of Community Psychology, 29,
-746.
Swann, C. J., & Ussher, J. M. (1995). A discourse analytic
approach to women’s experience of premenstrual
syndrome. Journal of Mental Health, 4,
-367.
Woodside, H., Krupa, T., & Pocock, K. (2008). How
people negotiate for success as psychosis
emerges. Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 2, 50-54.
