# Clinical treatment interventions in personal recovery stories of patients with severe mental illness: a qualitative study

## TL;DR

This study explores how clinical treatments affect personal recovery in patients with severe mental illness, finding that interventions can have both positive and negative impacts.

## Contribution

The study provides novel insights into the subjective experiences of clinical treatment interventions in personal recovery stories of patients with severe mental illness.

## Key findings

- Clinical treatment interventions can have both positive and negative impacts on personal recovery.
- Receiving a diagnosis can bring relief but also lead to stigma.
- Medication has positive effects but side-effects can hinder recovery.

## Abstract

In quantitative research, small to medium associations were found between clinical and personal recovery in patients with severe mental illness (SMI). This finding may result from varying relationships between clinical and personal recovery depending on the individual patient. The aim of the current study was to explore the subjective experience of clinical treatment interventions in personal recovery stories of patients with severe mental illness.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 patients with SMI receiving treatment of a Flexible Assertive Community Treatment team in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Thematic analysis was used.

We found that most clinical treatment interventions can have both positive and negative impact on personal recovery: (1) receiving a diagnosis can lead to relief, but also to stigma, (2) medication has positive effects, but side-effects impair personal recovery, (3) hospitalization and (4) coercive treatment can be helpful, but can also impact the process of recovery negatively, (5) psychological treatment is experienced as beneficial.

Mental healthcare practitioners’ awareness of patients’ diverging experiences regarding the impact of clinical treatment interventions on personal recovery is important to carry out recovery-supportive practice. Communicating a diagnosis with a hopeful narrative, developing personalized medication strategies and post-hospital reflection on the use of restraints are a good basis.