Aloneness and loneliness – persons with severe mental illness and experiences of being alone

People with severe mental illness (SMI) are often described as lonely and socially incapable – an inability resulting from the mental illness. The aim of this article is to explore experiences of being alone among persons with SMI. The article is based on interviews with 19 persons diagnosed with psychosis who were interviewed between four and nine times over a period of three years. The findings show that experiences of being alone can be identified by 'two' concepts: aloneness and loneliness. The persons in the study appeared as socially able and active in relation to their social lives. However, a social agent does not operate in a void but in interaction with specific living conditions; the experiences of aloneness and loneliness may be viewed as the result of the interplay between the individual and the social and material environment

Hjälpande relationer i psykiatrisk öppenvård : en intervjustudie

Background: During the last decades patient satisfaction has become an important measurement of quality in psychiatric care. However the patients are seldom asked to evaluate the treatments. Objectives: The aim is to determine which factors the outpatients regard as beneficial in their psychiatric treatment. The purpose is explorative. During the study another purpose developed; to present research on the importance of the relationship between the caretaker and the caregiver for the outcome. Method: 30 persons were interviewed about what they found helpful in psychiatric treatment. The interviews were open using Grounded Theory as methodological input. Result: The most prominent topic was the quality of the relationship between the caregiver and the caretaker. The characteristics of a helping relationship seem to be when the patient: - is being listened to and understood by a caregiver who is interested and concerned. - is not only seen as a caretaker with problems but also as a complete person, someone more than an equation of symptoms, diagnoses and shortcomings - is seen as a person worth listening to with unique knowledge which matters to the caregiver - is seen as a unique person not possible to minimize to just another cas

A diversity of patterns: 10-year trajectories of men and women diagnosed with psychosis for the first time. A time-geographic approach

People with severe mental illness face a different interventional landscape compared to some decades ago, when mental hospitals were dominant, in Sweden as well as in the rest of the Western world. The aim of the research reported in this article was to follow men and women diagnosed with psychosis for the first time over a 10-year period, and to explore what interventions they experienced. The interventions, here defined as "spheres", were either community-based or institutional. A third sphere represents no interventions. Based on data from registers and using a time-geographic approach, the individuals were visualised as 10-year trajectories where their transitions between the different spheres were highlighted. The results show a great diversity of trajectories. Two main categories were detected: two-spheres (community-based and no interventions) and three-spheres (adding institutional interventions). One third of the population experienced only community-based interventions, with a higher proportion of men than women. Consequently, more women had institutional experience. Two sub-categories reveal trajectories not being in the interventional sphere in a stepwise manner before the 10th year, and long-term trajectories with interventions in the 10th year. The most common pattern was long-term trajectories, embracing about half of the population, while one-fifth left the institutional sphere before the 5th year.Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council for Health, Working life and WelfareSwedish Research CouncilSwedish Research Council for Health Working Life &amp; Welfare (Forte) [2014-0117]</p

Confirming mental health care in acute psychiatric wards, as narrated by persons experiencing psychotic illness : an interview study

BACKGROUND: It is important that mental health nurses meet the safety, security and care needs of persons suffering from psychotic illness to enhance these persons' likelihood of feeling better during their time in acute psychiatric wards. Certain persons in care describe nurses' mental health care as positive, whereas others report negative experiences and express a desire for improvements. There is limited research on how persons with psychotic illness experience nurses' mental health care acts and how such acts help these persons feel better. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore, describe and understand how the mental health nurses in acute psychiatric wards provide care that helps persons who experienced psychotic illness to feel better, as narrated by these persons. METHOD: This study had a qualitative design; 12 persons participated in qualitative interviews. The interviews were transcribed, content analysed and interpreted using Martin Buber's concept of confirmation. RESULTS: The results of this study show three categories of confirming mental health care that describe what helped the participants to feel better step-by-step: first, being confirmed as a person experiencing psychotic illness in need of endurance; second, being confirmed as a person experiencing psychotic illness in need of decreased psychotic symptoms; and third, being confirmed as a person experiencing psychotic illness in need of support in daily life. The underlying meaning of the categories and of subcategories were interpreted and formulated as the theme; confirming mental health care to persons experiencing psychotic illness. CONCLUSION: Confirming mental health care acts seem to help persons to feel better in a step-wise manner during psychotic illness. Nurses' openness and sensitivity to the changing care needs of persons who suffer from psychotic illness create moments of confirmation within caring acts that concretely help the persons to feel better and that may enhance their health. The results show the importance of taking the experiential knowledge of persons who have experienced psychotic illness seriously to develop and increase the quality of mental health care in acute psychiatric wards