A qualitative study of hermeneutic analysis in individuals with schizophrenia, psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses writings on selected narratives.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Understanding individuals with schizophrenia is an essential but challenging phenomenon in psychiatry. This study proposes a reevaluation of the nature of therapeutic communication among individuals with schizophrenia, psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses by interpreting their writings on the same written narratives through a hermeneutic analysis. In this study, employing a qualitative descriptive methodology utilising hermeneutic analysis, participants read the five narratives, wrote down their opinions on each narratives and answered nine questions to express their own personal writing experiences. Participants from each group acted as both 'readers' and 'authors' while rewriting the selected five short narratives based on their own sense of readings. The expression, rewriting refers to the act of reading and written interpretations of participants and researchers in this study. While individuals with schizophrenia primarily focused on the text (narrative) in their readings and writings, psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses tended to focus on reader (themselves) in their interpretations. Although reading should be approached as a process of discovery rather than merely seeking predetermined knowledge, psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses read the narratives as if the author were a patient or as the signs of an illness. The results point to the need for psychiatrists/psychiatric nurses to develop new perspectives and skills in understanding and interacting with individuals with schizophrenia.