Abstract
This paper reviews various perspectives regarding the relationship between language and experience, including the challenges of using verbal descriptions to access subjective experience in psychiatric interviews (in both clinical and research settings). Schizophrenia is a specific case in which the experience of language may be altered, posing unique challenges in the context of the interview. The phenomenology of language in schizophrenia is briefly presented, with discussion of related alterations in interpersonal orientation, attention and context, underlying experience, and attitudes toward language. It is suggested that some of the challenges posed by language, particularly in schizophrenia, may be addressed through the use of semi-structured, phenomenologically-informed interviews like the EASE: Examination of Anomalous Self-Experience and the EAWE: Examination of Anomalous World Experience. Guidelines for the administration of these interviews are presented to assist with eliciting descriptions of subjective experience with a higher degree of detail and accuracy.
Highlights
Schizophrenia is a disorder that often seems to defy attempts to express and comprehend the effects it has on those who suffer from it
Psychiatric interviews used in research and clinical practice, which rely on language to identify and understand the subjective experience of patients, face unique challenges when it comes to collecting information that is a clear reflection of that experience
22 Psicopatologia Fenomenológica Contemporânea - EAWE, 2018; 7(2):10-28 that aims to cover numerous experiences that are frequently subtle, fleeting, and verging on the ineffable, while providing tools and constructs that facilitate detailed descriptions of experiences, even those that the interviewee may be articulating for the first time. These interview formats provide a set of guidelines to assist the interviewer in employing techniques that elicit clear descriptions. One suggestion is for interviewers to be aware of the potentially intimate nature of the interview, that is, to be sensitive to the fact that interviewees may feel as though the “intimate corners of his or her private life are being somehow invaded” (p. 13), something which may be especially applicable to those who may sometimes use language to obscure rather than disclose their experience and who may be wary about their experiences being distorted by being publicly articulated
Summary
Schizophrenia is a disorder that often seems to defy attempts to express and comprehend the effects it has on those who suffer from it. Perhaps less well-known, but at least as important, are the ways it can shift the very structure of subjectivity itself, resulting in experiences that may be transformed on such a fundamental level that it is difficult to find words and constructs that communicate these phenomena to others. Such features may pose unique problems for those who rely on language and communication for assessment, treatment, or research.
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