Empowerment and the recovery model

The Effects on Helplessness and Recovery of An Empowerment Program for Hospitalized Persons With Schizophrenia

“…Professionals should strive to achieve the outcome that persons diagnosed with schizophrenia become as free as possible of symptoms of the disease and adverse effects from treatment, and gain an understanding of the nature of the illness (Lodge, ). Therefore, we first tried to instill in the subjects a basic understanding of the nature and course of schizophrenia, and then taught them medication‐adherence strategies.…”

“…The concept of recovery from serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia includes both subjective experiences and objective outcomes (Lysaker, Roe, & Buck, ; Warner, ). The experience of psychosis is traumatic and bewildering, and the course of the illness is unpredictable and frequently fluctuates (Lodge, ). Some qualitative research has described recovery from schizophrenia (Noh, Choe, & Yang, ; Noiseux & Ricard, ; Sung, Kim, Puskar, & Kim, ).…”

“…Many patients with schizophrenia can remain symptom free and others can lead reasonably productive lives. However, the majority of them will still experience a degree of impairment of function, and many will suffer frank relapses or chronic levels of their positive symptoms (Lodge, ). Although remission of symptoms has been precisely defined, “recovery” is a more diffuse concept that includes such factors as productiveness, independent functioning, and maintaining satisfying relationships (Warner, ).…”

“…Warner () recommended that the recovering patient is more likely to have a valued occupational role and continued antipsychotic medication reduces the risk of relapse. Complete resolution of symptoms encourages optimism about the prognosis, but hopes for a meaningful and lasting recovery need to be underpinned by appropriate support and treatment to reduce the risk of relapse (Cavelti, Beck, Kvrgic, Kossowsky, & Vauth, ; Lodge, ). All of these achievements are based on the principle that psychosocial interventions should assist the patient in better understanding his/her illness and its behavior.…”

How did we let it come to this? A plea for the principle of continuity of care

“…18 The introduction of computerised notes, intended to make information on the patient readily available to all of these professional teams, in practice, paradoxically, appears to have reduced the amount of information recorded and its availability. The psychiatrist who has been caring for a patient in the community, who knows at least the recent history, has no power over the decision to admit.…”