GPs’ and patients’ views on recovery from psychosis

Abstract

Purpose – Recovery is a key organising principle underlying mental health services, but remains under-researched in primary care. The purpose of this paper is to explore what recovery from psychosis means from multiple perspectives, the role of primary care in fostering recovery, and interventions that might enhance its promotion in primary care. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 20 patients who had experienced psychosis and 24 General Practitioners (GPs) with varying expressed interest in mental health participated in semi-structured interviews, and were invited to two subsequent mixed focus groups. Data were analysed using Framework Analysis. Findings – Recovery was conceptualised by GPs without a specialist clinical interest in mental health as improvements in symptomatic outcomes, by GPs with a special interest as improvements in social or functional outcomes, and by patients as a process involving a “whole person” approach. Both GPs and patients highlighted benefits of primary care including continuity, accessibility, and the role primary care professionals can play in supporting patients’ families, and helping patients expand social support networks. Despite feeling “fobbed off” at times, patients desired a shift in responsibility for psychosis from secondary to primary care. Practical implications – Reflective peer supervision meetings for GPs and patient-led training might improve primary care's ability to provide a more recovery-focused environment. Originality/value – This study provided original and valuable findings regarding how GPs viewed their own role in promoting recovery from psychosis. This study also provided original findings regarding how patients viewed the role of primary care in promoting recovery from psychosis.