Are attitudes and beliefs about symptoms more important than symptom severity in recovery from psychosis?

Leisure-Generated Meanings and Active Living for Persons With Mental Illness

“…To directly address this gap in the literature, we were interested in exploring relationships of LGMs to stress-coping, recovery, and active living within an often marginalized population-individuals with mental illness (e.g., major depression, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia). The rationale for specifically examining these relationships within this population is that a. people seem to gain valued life meanings as a result of effectively coping with stress through leisure pursuits (Heintzman, 2008;Hutchinson, Yarnal, Staffordson, & Kerstetter, 2008;Iwasaki, MacKay, Mactavish, Ristock, & Bartlett, 2006), b. meaning-making has been found as a key process to recovery from mental illness (Oades, Crowe, & Nguyen, 2009;Schön, 2010;Stainsby, Sapochnik, Bledin, & Mason, 2010), and c. the pursuit of active living is important for people with mental illness to address the high prevalence of obesity and inactive/sedentary lifestyle among this population group (Citrome & Vreeland, 2009;Hellerstein et al, 2007;Mangurian, Stowe, & Devlin, 2009). …”

Confirming the structure of negative beliefs about psychosis and bipolar disorder: A confirmatory factor analysis study of the Personal Beliefs about Experience Questionnaire and Personal Beliefs about Illness Questionnaire

“…Several studies have supported the notion that individuals' beliefs about their psychotic experiences are an important determinate of subsequent distress and affective disturbance, including depression (Acosta et al ., ; Birchwood et al ., ; Karatzias et al ., ; Stainsby et al ., ; White et al ., ). The current study is consistent with this notion, with the ISD and NAE factors demonstrating moderate independent relationships with depressive symptoms.…”

“…Negative beliefs about psychotic experiences are clinically important because such beliefs are associated with recovery style, quality of life, depression, anxiety and hopelessness (Acosta, Aguilar, Cejas, & Gracia, ; Birchwood et al ., ; Karatzias, Gumley, Power, & O'Grady, ; Pyle et al ., ; Stainsby, Sapochnik, Bledin, & Mason, ; Stowkowy, Perkins, Woods, Nyman, & Addington, ; White, McCleery, Gumley, & Mulholland, ). Such beliefs may therefore represent one mechanism through which affective disturbances in individuals with psychotic experiences develop.…”

Using psychodynamic principles in formulation in everyday practice

“…The way professionals make sense of people's experience of psychosis determines their behaviour, the interventions they consider relevant and their ability to feel empathy, hope, confidence and a sense of alliance with the patient (Johnstone 2006;Summers 2006;Tarrier 2006). For patients, formulations which view psychotic experiences as meaningful and related to their life story are more often in line with their own views -more acceptable, and associated with less stigmatising attitudes and greater motivation to recover (Angermeyer 1988;Walker 2002;Geekie 2009;Stainsby 2010). Having a psychiatrist who treats the content of their subjective experience as relevant seems to be associated with improved satisfaction, therapeutic alliance, medication adherence and outcome (McCabe 2002;Priebe 2008).…”