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Antipsychotics and Identity: The Adverse Effect No One is Talking About

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Abstract

People who take antipsychotics, and people who are prescribed antipsychotics without taking them, experience effects which are not frequently discussed: effects on their identity and sense of self. Qualitative research indicates the relationship between taking APs and identity is multilayered, and changeable. Taking APs can restore people to their earlier, pre-symptom sense of self. Being prescribed and taking APs can also, on the other hand, be experienced as damaging, erasing and dulling people’s sense of who they are. This complexity deserves exploration in clinical practice, which we believe is currently not done routinely. More work is needed to understand whether, and how, the relationship between identity and APs is being addressed. We outline the importance of having discussions in a clinical space around identity, and a sense of agency, on the grounds that true recovery-oriented care, which enacts shared decision-making principles, demands it. Further, we argue that it will allow for better therapeutic alliance and trust to be forged between clinician and client, ultimately leading to better care.

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Notes

  1. Recovery was described in the seminal article by William Anthony as a deeply personal, unique process of changing one’s attitudes, values, feelings, goals, skills, and/or roles. It is a way of living a satisfying, hopeful, and contributing life even with the limitations caused by illness. Recovery involves the development of new meaning and purpose in one’s life as one grows beyond the catastrophic effects of mental illness.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Psychiatry, University College London, Maple House, W1T 7BN, London, UK

    M. Conneely

  2. Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel

    D. Roe & I. Hasson-Ohayon

  3. Department of Clinical and Developmental Neuropsychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands

    G. H. M. Pijnenborg & L. van der Meer

  4. Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark

    H. Speyer

  5. Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    H. Speyer

Authors
  1. M. Conneely
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  2. D. Roe
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  3. I. Hasson-Ohayon
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  4. G. H. M. Pijnenborg
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  5. L. van der Meer
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Correspondence to M. Conneely.

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Conneely, M., Roe, D., Hasson-Ohayon, I. et al. Antipsychotics and Identity: The Adverse Effect No One is Talking About. Community Ment Health J (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-024-01255-w

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