Understanding the Recovery Process in Psychosis

Conceptualizing recovery in the context of severe and persisting mental health conditions is a complex issue. In recent years, there has been a call to re-focus research from understanding the concept of recovery to improving understanding of the process of recovery. There is a paucity of knowledge about the core processes involved in recovery from psychosis.

Objective: The authors aimed to gain insight into possible processes involved in recovery through analyzing data generated from a large qualitative study investigating employment barriers and support needs of people living with psychosis.

Research Design and Methods: Participants were 137 individuals drawn from six key stakeholder groups. Data obtained from focus groups (14) and individual interviews (34) were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results: The main recovery processes identified were: learning effective coping strategies; recognizing personal potential; identifying and realizing personal goals; participation in social and occupational roles; positive risk-taking; and reclaiming personal identity.

Discussion: The results of this study have implications for treatment as well as the daily support needs of people recovering from psychosis.