Living with psychosis

Abstract

The experiences of people living with psychosis are an important source of knowledge that was explored by the Researching Psychosis Together group, based at Brunel University. Starting from their own personal experiences, the group designed this research to find out what is helpful and demystify psychosis. Two focus groups were held, involving 15 people who discussed what it is like to experience psychosis. They talked about what to do, the importance of talking to others and not avoiding problems. Many people agreed that finding ongoing skilled help was important, to feel safe and more receptive when unwell. The findings suggest that services should give priority to understanding individual experiences of psychosis, so support can be more effective and focused on practical problems in life. Doing this research as a group had benefits for everyone involved: details of how to be involved in the next stage of the Researching Psychosis Together group’s work are provided on page 22.