| Summary: | Purpose: This study explored the lived experiences of inpatients in an adult acute psychiatric ward aiming to bring the voices, individual journeys and everyday worlds of psychiatric inpatients to the research arena. It tried to understand the meaning of psychiatric illness, acute hospitalization experience and the effects of these upon people‘s lives and identity. Lastly, it investigated the psychologists‘ role in acute wards. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten adult inpatients in one psychiatric acute ward in the south of England. Data was collected and analysed according to the interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) method leading to case and group analyses of interview transcripts. Results: Themes of inpatient life were found to be: (1) admission and experiences of the early days; (2) every day life on the ward; (3) maintaining connections with the outside world; (4) relationships with other patients; (5) relationships with nursing staff; (6) relationships with psychiatrists; (7) experiences of being sectioned; (8) experiences of medical treatment and (9) reactions to inpatient care. Illness journey themes were determined to be: (1) Making sense of illness; (2) experiences of illness symptoms; (3) reactions to illness; (4) way to recovery; (5) impact on self / identity; (6) impact on life and (7) anticipation of life after illness / hospital care. Conclusions: The results show, in greater detail than in previous studies, that inpatient care and treatment can be dehumanizing and that issues of psychiatric inpatients need immediate attention from service providers. The study shows vividly that social inequalities and stigma are still problematic areas in mental health. A central theme of the research is the importance of supportive relationships to clients' recovery and wellbeing. The congruence of the recovery model with counselling psychology principles is clarified and the exciting possibility that counselling psychologists could implement the recovery model is explored.
|
|---|
