Personal Experiences Of Psychological Therapy For Psychosis And Related Experiences

For those struggling with experiences of psychosis, therapy can be beneficial and even life changing. However, there is no single type of therapy, and a great range and diversity of therapeutic approaches have been developed to help different individuals’ needs, which makes deciding which approach is most helpful for an individual not a straightforward choice. Personal Experiences of Psychological Therapy for Psychosis and Related Experiences uniquely presents personal accounts of those who have received therapy for psychosis alongside professional clinical commentary on these therapies, giving multiple perspectives on what they involve and how they work. Presented in a clear and accessible way, each chapter includes accounts of a variety of different therapies, including cognitive behavioural therapy, trauma-focused therapy, open dialogue, and systemic family therapy. The reader is encouraged to explore not only the clinical basis for these therapies but also understand what the treatments mean for the person experiencing them, as well as their challenges and limitations. The book also explores the importance of the individual’s relationship with the therapist. As a whole, the perspectives presented here provide unique insight into a range of widely used psychological therapies for psychosis. With its special combination of personal experiences and concise introductions to different therapies, this book offers a valuable resource for academics and students of psychiatry, clinical psychology, psychotherapy, mental health care and mental health nursing. It will also be essential reading for those considering treatment, their friends and families, as well as mental health professionals, including psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, psychotherapists and nurses.

Extensive scientific research has been conducted into understanding and learning more about psychotic experiences. However, in existing research the voice of subjective experience is rarely taken into consideration. In this book, first-person accounts are brought centre-stage and examined alongside current research to suggest how personal experience can contribute to professional understanding, and therefore the treatment, of psychosis. Experiencing Psychosis brings together a range of contributors who have either experienced psychosis on a personal level or conducted research into the topic. Chapters are presented in pairs providing information from both personal and research perspectives on specific aspects of psychosis including: hearing voices, delusional beliefs, and trauma as well as cultural, existential and spiritual issues. Experts from the field recognise that first and foremost psychosis is a human experience and that those who suffer from psychotic episodes must have some involvement in any genuine attempts to make sense of the experience. This book will be essential reading for all mental health professionals involved with psychosis. The accessible style and compelling personal histories will also attract service users and their families.

Psychosis as a Personal Crisis seeks to challenge the way people who hear voices are both viewed and treated. This book emphasises the individual variation between people who suffer from psychosis and puts forward the idea that hearing voices is not in itself a sign of mental illness. In this book the editors bring together an international range of expert contributors, who in their daily work, their research or their personal acquaintance, focus on the personal experience of psychosis. Further topics of discussion include: accepting and making sense of hearing voices the relation between trauma and paranoia the limitations of contemporary psychiatry the process of recovery. This book will be essential reading for all mental health professionals, in particular those wanting to learn more about the development of the hearing voices movement and applying these ideas to better understanding those in the voice hearing community.

The use of first-hand service user accounts of mental illness is still limited in the professional literature available. This is, however, beginning to change, with a new ‘recovery’ focus in mental health services meaning that the voices of service users are finally being heard. Recovering from Psychosis: Empirical Evidence and Lived Experience synthesises a narrative approach alongside an evidence-based review of current treatment by including Stephen Williams’ own personal experience as it relates to psychosis, recovery and treatment. A mental health professional himself, the author’s account of his own recovery from severe mental health difficulties, without sustained intervention, challenges the orthodoxy of representation of service users in mental health. Recovering from Psychosis critically explores and reviews the current state of the art of research and knowledge about the nature and treatment of psychosis. Working simultaneously from empirical, lived experience and philosophical perspectives, Stephen Williams: Evaluates political and power related issues in professional understanding, knowledge-creation and treatment of people with psychosis; Introduces the current ‘recovery movement’, unpacking its origins and implications for the future development of ‘recovery oriented services’; Reviews, summarizes and critiques the current state of ‘recovery’ research, looking at the advantages and disadvantages of such an approach, examining how this is influencing the transformation of UK mental health services; Analyses the difficulties in organisational implementation of recovery approaches, summarises the most empirically robust approaches to practice, personal and service delivery measurement; Reviews current ‘models’ of psychosis and how various professional scientific groups explain the experience and nature of psychosis; Uses lived-experience accounts taken from the scientific literature, portraying the nature of such experiences and analysing them in the face of contemporary psychological models. Recovering from Psychosis is an essential comprehensive guide for mental health professionals, psychologists, social workers and carers, who are working with people with severe and enduring mental health difficulties diagnosed as psychosis. It addresses the practical implications of working with such difficult conditions and serves as a hopeful story of recovery for service users.

The Recovery of the Self in Psychosis details specific therapeutic approaches as well as considers how treatments can be individually tailored and adapted to help persons whose mental health challenges may be either mild or more severe. By focusing on basic elements of the experiences of persons diagnosed with psychosis and exploring the broader meanings these experiences have, each of these treatments offers distinctive ways to help persons define and manage their own recovery. The book includes measurable therapeutic processes, an empirically supported conceptual basis for understanding disturbances in self-experience and rich descriptions of the recovery process. The Recovery of the Self in Psychosis moves beyond approaches which dictate what health is to persons with psychosis through education. It will be essential reading for all clinical psychologists and psychotherapists working with people diagnosed with psychosis.

For professionals working with people who experience severe psychosis, increasing empirical evidence for the benefits of psychotherapy for psychosis has been especially welcome. Given the limitations of medication-only approaches and the need for an expanded perspective, including for those diagnosed with schizophrenia, Surviving, Existing, or Living takes a fresh look at severe psychosis, offering a heuristic model for understanding psychosis along a continuum of severity, from the extreme experience of acutely impairing psychosis to a more enriched life experience. Pamela Fuller emphasizes that facilitating recovery from psychosis requires appropriately and effectively matching the type and timing of interventions to client readiness and capabilities. The need to consider each individual according to which of three primary issues/phases preoccupy the person with psychosis is essential for tailoring treatment. She identifies these phases as: Surviving Phase – preoccupation with survival Existing Phase – preoccupation with restriction of life experiences in order to cope Living Phase – preoccupation with quality of life and relationships Surviving, Existing, or Living examines the rationale for these three phases, and provides details of phase-specific treatment interventions as well as a 'how to' guide for facilitating engagement and for determining 'what to do when,' including with those experiencing acute, severe psychosis. Rich clinical case examples are provided to highlight concepts and the types of interventions. Trauma-specific and group interventions for psychosis are also described, as well as ways to foster resilience in the professional who works with individuals with psychosis. Surviving, Existing, or Living offers a detailed guide to help individuals experiencing psychosis move from suffering to recovery, beyond surviving or existing toward more fully living. The book will be essential reading for professionals in the fields of psychology, psychiatry, counseling, medicine, social work, nursing, occupational, recreational, and vocational therapies, experience-based experts, and students.

Positive Psychotherapy for Psychosis describes a new psychological intervention, which for the first time applies emerging research from the field of positive psychology specifically to psychosis. The book contains guidance on adapting the approach for use in individual treatments, and on providing part of the intervention, either as individual sessions or by integrating Positive Psychotherapy for Psychosis sessions into other treatments. Divided into two sections – Theory and the Intervention Manual – this book offers methodologically rigorous research, case studies and detailed aims and instructions for clinicians and therapists. The structured, step-by-step manual, for use with clients, includes downloadable handouts, session materials, activities, guides and therapist tips. The manual will be a practical, positive and innovative resource for mental health professionals, providing all the material needed to deliver this evidence-based approach that is designed to improve wellbeing and reduce symptoms experienced by people living with psychosis. Positive Psychotherapy for Psychosis will be of interest to mental health clinicians working with people with psychosis, as well as clinical and counselling psychologists, psychiatrists, mental health nurses, psychotherapists, social workers, occupational therapists, support workers and peer support specialists.

This book offers first-person accounts of the experience of psychosis from the inside and the outside, through the eyes of two doctors, one of whom has experienced psychosis and both of whom have worked for decades in the field of psychiatry. Underpinned by rigorous academic analysis using an evocative duo-ethnographic approach, the book explores the cultural and subcultural influences from childhood onwards – both traumatic and resilience-building – that have shaped their lives. Both authors reflect on strategies they learned early in life for dealing with challenges, each managing to function at a high level while avoiding awareness of their vulnerability. They reflect on the potential dangers of using their expertise and position of power in psychiatry simply to diagnose mental illness and prescribe medication. The differences and similarities in the authors’ stories provide a productive tension highlighting the complexities of this paradigm shift that is happening in psychiatry. Written in the form of two interacting memoirs, this book is of great interest to researchers, clinicians, and practicing psychologists, as well as a general audience with interest in psychosis.