Lay constructions of recovery : a Q methodological study

• Main Author: Palmer, Francesca T.
• Other Authors: Simonds, Laura; John, Mary
• Published: University of Surrey 2015
• Subjects: 150
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.667628

Recovery from mental health problems is a key target for the NHS today. The philosophy of personal recovery is included within government policies and the design of some mental health services in the UK. Research into recovery has focused largely on service-users and there is a lack of information about lay perceptions of recovery. This study sought to examine lay constructions of recovery from two mental health problems - depression and psychosis - using Q methodology. Seventy-two participants sorted 47 statements about recovery based upon their level of relative agreement or disagreement with each one after reading a vignette describing either symptoms of depression or of psychosis. Three subtly different constructions emerged from participants in the depression condition and two from those in the psychosis condition. Lay constructions of recovery from each of these conditions overlapped to some extent, with differences emerging around the centrality of professional input and the eradication of symptoms. The study demonstrated that the constructions of lay people in this sample comprised elements of both personal and clinical recovery. Generally, participants seemed to have an optimistic view on the possibility of recovery from both conditions.