Happiness in severe mental illness: exploring subjective wellbeing of individuals with psychosis and encouraging socially inclusive multidisciplinary practice

Abstract

Purpose-This paper seeks to extend the focus of positive psychology research to individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) to address an aspect of social exclusion experienced by this disadvantaged client group. Design/methodology/approach-The article summarises and builds on the outcomes of an earlier subjective wellbeing in psychosis study and arrives at original implications to challenge socially exclusive assumptions about limited emotional capabilities of those with SMI. The authors make suggestions for enhancing the wellbeing of people with SMI from the perspective of social inclusion. Data were gathered through validated self-report rating scales and analysed statistically. Findings-The levels of subjective wellbeing within the sample were shown to approximate those established in the general population. Depression was demonstrated to mediate the effects that the experience of psychosis had on participants' life satisfaction. Psychosis did not appear to prevent individuals from experiencing happiness, although when associated with depression, life satisfaction was lowered. Research limitations/implications- Because of the focus on subjective aspects of wellbeing, external indicators of objective quality of life were not explored. Individual appraisals of experiences of psychosis were not investigated. Originality/value-The study demonstrates that individuals with psychosis are capable of experiencing happiness. Thus, it challenges an aspect of a widespread socially exclusive assumption about limited internal capabilities of those with SMI. It also highlights that those with combined symptoms of psychosis and depression are in particular need of multidisciplinary support to enhance their wellbeing. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved

An exploration of strength use and its relationship with life satisfaction, positive self-beliefs and paranoid ideation

“…Strength-use was positively associated with greater life satisfaction, which echoes the findings of Douglass and Duffy (2015). Similarly, there was the expected negative correlation between life satisfaction and paranoid ideation, which reiterates the findings of Mankiewicz, Gresswell and Turner (2013). Positive selfbeliefs were negatively associated with paranoid ideation, which corresponds with the findings of Mills et al (2007) and Collett et al (2016).…”

“…This includes individuals with psychosis not acknowledging personal strengths (Sims et al, 2015). There is also a negative correlation between non-clinical paranoia and selfkindness (Mills et al, 2007) and between clinical paranoid ideation and life satisfaction (Mankiewicz, Gresswell & Turner, 2013). Furthermore, clients with clinical paranoia present with low levels of self-compassion and positive self-schemas (Collett et al, 2016).…”

Determinants of subjective well‐being in people with psychosis referred for psychological therapy in South London

“…To tailor therapies towards maximizing SWB, social support could be incorporated into treatment planning (The Schizophrenia Commission, ) and social inclusion could become embedded in psychological practice (Mankiewicz, Gresswell, & Turner, ). In therapy, this may involve encouraging greater participation in community life and acknowledging people's individual strengths, identities, and values (National Social Inclusion Programme, ).…”

Toward positive psychosocial practice in psychosis: In pursuit of subjective wellbeing in severe mental illhealth

“…The Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen & Griffin, 1985) was used to investigate the levels of cognitive dimension of SWB, while the Positive Affect Scale, a standardised subtest of the Affect Balance Scale (Bradburn, 1969), was utilised to examine the affective component of participants' happiness. The authors demonstrated that SWB measures could be reliably administered to individuals with active psychoses, including those on acute mental health wards (Mankiewicz et al, 2013a). Interestingly, not only was Headey and Wearing's model with its correlational values successfully replicated, but the sample's mean for positive affect approximated the levels established in the general population, indicating that the participants exhibited average levels of positive affect.…”