20 Years on From a First Episode Psychosis: Does Clinical Recovery Status Influence Personal Recovery Meaning? The Qualitative Findings of iHOPE-20
Poster A50, Monday, October%208, 11:30%20am%20-%201:00%20pm, Essex%20Ballroom
Donal O'Keeffe1,2, Ann Sheridan3, Aine Kelly4, Roisin Doyle1, Kevin Madigan5,6, Elizabeth Lawlor1, Mary Clarke1,3; 1DETECT Early Intervention in Psychosis Service, Dublin, Ireland, 2Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland, 3University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland, 4Saint John of God Hospitaller Services, Dublin, Ireland, 5Saint John of God Community Services, Dublin, Ireland, 6Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
Purpose: In contemporary mental healthcare, the concept of ‘recovery’ has become ubiquitous. Recovery has emerged as a structuring principle in service philosophy and mental health policy globally. As the service user perspective is integral to defining personal recovery, qualitative research can help establish if clinical recovery status impacts personal recovery meaning. Within the First Episode Psychosis (FEP) literature, there is a dearth of very long term follow up research that explores recovery qualitatively. Materials and Methods: Twenty participants were purposefully sampled from a FEP incidence cohort (Irish Health Outcomes in Psychosis Evaluation - 20 year follow up: iHOPE-20). We conducted semi-structured interviews exploring personal recovery meaning with 10 people who met full functional recovery criteria and 10 who did not. Thematic Analysis was performed using an exploratory, inductive, and essentialist approach. Results: While there was concordance between groups in how personal recovery was conceptualised; substantial variation was also found. Participants described personal recovery as managing the impact of unusual beliefs/perceptions; being perceived as capable and of value; engaging with life and self-transcending; and formulating a personal understanding of their psychosis experiences. Some recovery facets identified by the ‘non-recovered’ group were deemed unimportant and inaccessible to the ‘recovered’ group (e.g. the meaning in life derived from psychosis) and vice versa (e.g. self-actualisation achieved through professional success). Conclusions: Findings have implications for policy and clinical care. Different aspects of personal recovery may need to be emphasised at each treatment stage in FEP; depending on an individual’s priorities and their recovery trajectory.
Topic Area: First Episode Psychosis