Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Patient Perspective on Factors that Facilitate Recovery in Schizophrenia. A Qualitative Study

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Mental Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Though it is mostly accepted that recovery is possible in Schizophrenia, not much is known about its facilitating factors. Previous studies indicate that the facilitators of recovery can vary among individuals. There are very few studies that have explored the facilitators of recovery from patient perspective. The current study aims to explore the facilitators of recovery from the perspective of persons who consider themselves recovered from Schizophrenia. This article presents the findings of a qualitative study in which 20 person who consider themselves recovered/recovering from Schizophrenia were interviewed. A semi structured interview schedule was prepared based on literature review and expert opinion. Data was analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA).Participants identified six factors that significantly helped them to recover from their illness and still helps them to maintain their recovery. These factors include (1) medication (2) support from significant others (3) knowledge about the illness (4) self-determination and optimism (5) lifestyle modifications and (6) spirituality. Embracing a recovery-oriented treatment approach that places emphasis on these factors can enhance patient engagement in the treatment process and lead to improved treatment outcomes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adeponle, A., Whitley, R., & Kirmayer, L. J. (2012). Cultural contexts and constructions of recovery. UK: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Aldersey, H. M., & Whitley, R. (2015). Family influence in recovery from severe mental illness. Community Mental Health Journal, 51(4), 467-476.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Andresen, R., Oades, L., & Caputi, P. (2003). The experience of recovery from schizophrenia: towards an empirically validated stage model. Aust N Z J Psychiatry, 37(5), 586-594.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Anthony, W. (1993). Recovery from Mental Illness: The Guiding Vision of the Mental Health Service System in the 1990s. Psychosocial Rehabilitation Journal 16(4), 11-23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balaji, M., Chatterjee, S., Brennan, B., Rangaswamy, T., Thornicroft, G., & Patel, V. (2012). Outcomes that matter: a qualitative study with persons with schizophrenia and their primary caregivers in India. Asian journal of psychiatry, 5(3), 258-265.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Behere, P. B., Das, A., Yadav, R., & Behere, A. P. (2013). Religion and mental health. Indian journal of psychiatry, 55(Suppl 2), S187.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Das, S., Punnoose, V. P., Doval, N., & Nair, V. Y. (2018). Spirituality, religiousness and coping in patients with schizophrenia: A cross sectional study in a tertiary care hospital. Psychiatry research, 265, 238-243.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, L., Borg, M., Marin, I., Topor, A., Mezzina, R., & Sells, D. (2005). Processes of recovery in serious mental illness: Findings from a multinational study. American Journal of Psychiatric Rehabilitation, 8(3), 177-201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Wet, A., Swartz, L., & Chiliza, B. (2015). Hearing their voices: The lived experience of recovery from first-episode psychosis in schizophrenia in South Africa. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 61(1), 27-32.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Drapalski, A. L., Medoff, D., Unick, G. J., Velligan, D. I., Dixon, L. B., & Bellack, A. S. (2012). Assessing recovery of people with serious mental illness: development of a new scale. Psychiatric services, 63(1), 48-53.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Forchuk, C., Jewell, J., Tweedell, D., & Steinnagel, L. (2003). Reconnecting: The client experience of recovery from psychosis. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 39(4), 141-150.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gandhi, S., Gurusamy, J., Damodharan, D., & Ganesan, V. (2019). Facilitators of healthy life style behaviors in persons with schizophrenia—a qualitative feasibility pilot study. Asian journal of psychiatry, 40, 3-8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gandhi, S., Jose, D., & Desai, G. (2020). Perspectives of consumers in India on factors affecting recovery from schizophrenia. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 66(1), 93-101.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Glover, H. (2012). Recovery, lifelong learning, empowerment and social inclusion: is a new paradigm emerging. Empowerment, lifelong learning and recovery in mental health: Towards a new paradigm, 15–35.

  • Gopal, S., Mohan, G., John, S., & Raghavan, V. (2020). What constitutes recovery in schizophrenia? Client and caregiver perspectives from South India. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 66(2), 118-123.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grover, S., Davuluri, T., & Chakrabarti, S. (2014). Religion, spirituality, and schizophrenia: a review. Indian journal of psychological medicine, 36(2), 119-124.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy Halliburton (2022). Work and recovery from schizophrenia in India: a mixed methods study in Kerala, Psychosis, https://doi.org/10.1080/17522439.2022.2111593

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoffmann, H., & Kupper, Z. (2002). Facilitators of psychosocial recovery from schizophrenia. International Review of Psychiatry, 14(4), 293-302. https://doi.org/10.1080/0954026021000016932

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iseselo, M. K., & Ambikile, J. S. (2020). Promoting Recovery in Mental Illness: The Perspectives of Patients, Caregivers, and Community Members in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Psychiatry journal, 2020.

  • Jaiswal, A., Carmichael, K., Gupta, S., Siemens, T., Crowley, P., Carlsson, A., Brown, N. (2020). Essential elements that contribute to the recovery of persons with severe mental illness: a systematic scoping study. Frontiers in psychiatry, 1107.

  • Janardhana, N., Raghunandan, S., Naidu, D. M., Saraswathi, L., & Seshan, V. (2015). Care giving of people with severe mental illness: An Indian experience. Indian journal of psychological medicine, 37(2), 184-194.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, S. H., Thornicroft, G., Coffey, M., & Dunn, G. (1995). A brief mental health outcome scale. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 166(5), 654-659.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jose, D., Lalitha, K., Gandhi, S., & Desai, G. (2015). Consumer perspectives on the concept of recovery in schizophrenia: a systematic review. Asian journal of psychiatry.

  • Kartalova-O’Doherty, Y., & Doherty, D. T. (2011). Recovering from mental health problems: Perceived positive and negative effects of medication on reconnecting with life. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 57(6), 610-618.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lam, M. M., Pearson, V., Ng, R. M., Chiu, C. P., Law, C., & Chen, E. Y. (2011). What does recovery from psychosis mean? Perceptions of young first-episode patients. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 57(6), 580-587.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leamy, M., Bird, V., Le Boutillier, C., Williams, J., & Slade, M. (2011). Conceptual framework for personal recovery in mental health: systematic review and narrative synthesis. Br J Psychiatry, 199(6), 445-452. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.110.083733

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liberman, R. P., Kopelowicz, A., Ventura, J., & Gutkind, D. (2002). Operational criteria and factors related to recovery from schizophrenia. International Review of Psychiatry, 14(4), 256-272.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mathew, S. T., Nirmala, B. P., & Kommu, J. V. S. (2018). Meaning of recovery among persons with schizophrenia: a literature review. Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Mental Health, 5, 73–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mohr, S., Perroud, N., Gillieron, C., Brandt, P.-Y., Rieben, I., Borras, L., & Huguelet, P. (2011). Spirituality and religiousness as predictive factors of outcome in schizophrenia and schizo-affective disorders. Psychiatry research, 186(2-3), 177-182.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moncrieff, J., Cohen, D., & Mason, J. (2009). The subjective experience of taking antipsychotic medication: a content analysis of Internet data. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 120(2), 102-111.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ng, R. M., Pearson, V., Lam, M., Law, C., Chiu, C. P., & Chen, E. Y. (2008). What does recovery from schizophrenia mean? Perceptions of long-term patients. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 54(2), 118-130.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Noordsy, D., Torrey, W., Mueser, K., Mead, S., O'Keefe, C., & Fox, L. (2002). Recovery from severe mental illness: an intrapersonal and functional outcome definition. International Review of Psychiatry, 14(4), 318-326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nowak, I., Waszkiewicz, J., Świtaj, P., Sokół-Szawłowska, M., & Anczewska, M. (2017). A qualitative study of the subjective appraisal of recovery among people with lived experience of schizophrenia in Poland. Psychiatric Quarterly, 88(3), 435-446.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Perez, M. (2005). The role of spirituality in the recovery process of schizophrenia: A multiple case study. Saybrook University.

  • Piat, M., Sabetti, J., Couture, A., Sylvestre, J., Provencher, H., Botschner, J., & Stayner, D. (2009). What does recovery mean for me? Perspectives of Canadian mental health consumers. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 32(3), 199.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Pietkiewicz, I., & Smith, J. A. (2014). A practical guide to using interpretative phenomenological analysis in qualitative research psychology. Psychological journal, 20(1), 7-14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Resnick, S. G., Fontana, A., Lehman, A. F., & Rosenheck, R. A. (2005). An empirical conceptualization of the recovery orientation. Schizophrenia research, 75(1), 119-128.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ridgway, P. (2001). Restorying psychiatric disability: learning from first person recovery narratives. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 24(4), 335.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sells, D., Borg, M., Marin, I., Mezzina, R., Topor, A., & Davidson, L. (2006). Arenas of recovery for persons with severe mental illness. Archives of Andrology, 9(1), 3-16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shah, R., Kulhara, P., Grover, S., Kumar, S., Malhotra, R., & Tyagi, S. (2011). Contribution of spirituality to quality of life in patients with residual schizophrenia. Psychiatry research, 190(2-3), 200-205.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Silverstein, S. M., & Bellack, A. S. (2008). A scientific agenda for the concept of recovery as it applies to schizophrenia. Clinical psychology review, 28(7), 1108-1124.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Singla, N., Avasthi, A., & Grover, S. (2020). Recovery and its correlates in patients with schizophrenia. Asian journal of psychiatry, 52, 102162.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, M. K. (2000). Recovery from a severe psychiatric disability: Findings of a qualitative study. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 24(2), 149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, J. A., & Osborn, M. (2003). Interpretative phenomenological analysis. In J. A. Smith (Ed.), Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods (pp. 51–80). SAGE Publications, IncSmith, M. K. (2000). Recovery from a severe psychiatric disability: Findings of a qualitative study. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 24(2), 149.

  • Sullivan, W. P. (1994). A long and winding road. The process of recovery from severe mental illness. Innovation and Research in Clinical Services, Community Support and Rehabilitation, 3, 19-27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Temesgen, W. A., Chien, W. T., & Bressington, D. (2020). Factors influencing subjective recovery of people with recent-onset psychosis: A cross-sectional study in a low-income Sub-Saharan country. Psychiatry research, 287, 112282.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thara, R. (2012). Consumer perceptions of recovery: an Indian perspective. World Psychiatry, 11(3), 169-170.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Tirupati, S., & Padmavati, R. (2022). Schizophrenia, recovery, and culture: The need for an Indian perspective. Indian Journal of Social Psychiatry, 38(4), 318-324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tooth, B., Kalyanasundaram, V., Glover, H., & Momenzadah, S. (2003). Factors consumers identify as important to recovery from schizophrenia. Australasian Psychiatry, 11(sup1), S70-S77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wig, N. N. (1999). Mental health and spiritual values. A view from the East. International Review of Psychiatry, 11(2–3), 92–96.

  • Windell, D., & Norman, R. M. (2013). A qualitative analysis of influences on recovery following a first episode of psychosis. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 59(5), 493-500.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Windell, D., Norman, R., & Malla, A. K. (2012). The personal meaning of recovery among individuals treated for a first episode of psychosis. Psychiatr Serv, 63(6), 548-553. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201100424

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Windell, D. L., Norman, R., Lal, S., & Malla, A. (2015). Subjective experiences of illness recovery in individuals treated for first-episode psychosis. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 50(7), 1069-1077.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Xie, H. (2014). Voices of Personal Strengths and Recovery: A Qualitative Study on People with Serious Mental Illnesses.

  • Yardley, L. (2000). Dilemmas in qualitative health research. Psychology and health, 15(2), 215-228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This research was funded by University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi (Grant No.1367/NET.DEC.2010).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, St. Joseph’s University, 36, Lalbagh Rd, Bengaluru, Karnataka, 560027, India

    Shari Tess Mathew

  2. Department of Psychiatric Social Work, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, India

    Bergai Parthsarathy Nirmala

  3. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, India

    John Vijay Sagar Kommu

Authors
  1. Shari Tess Mathew
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Bergai Parthsarathy Nirmala
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. John Vijay Sagar Kommu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shari Tess Mathew.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

Authors have no conflict of interest in the publication of this article.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mathew, S.T., Nirmala, B.P. & Kommu, J.V.S. Patient Perspective on Factors that Facilitate Recovery in Schizophrenia. A Qualitative Study. J. Psychosoc. Rehabil. Ment. Health (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40737-023-00378-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40737-023-00378-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation