Q Sort of Emotions Associated With Post Psychotic Adjustment State

Abstract

Psychosis is a debilitating disease affecting millions of individuals. Early phase of First Episode Psychosis (FEP) is considered a critical period oftime for long term management of the disease process (Spencer, Birchwood, & McGovern, 2001). Antipsychotics have become a mainstay treatment and are often not used in conjunction with concomitant psychotherapy, education, family psychoeducation, or social service interventions. However, what may appear to be a subsequent relapse or noncompliance may actually be a normal reaction or emergence from the psychotic event (Worcester, 2003) as the individual adjusts to new life circumstances: a phenomenon called Post Psychotic Adjustment State (Moller, 2003). The emotional trauma and fear caused by FEP can interfere with adherence to treatment. The goal of this project is to examine the common feelings of a phenomenon called Post Psychotic Adjustment State (Moller, 2003) using a Q-sort methodology. The results of this project indicate that the emotional responses to PPAS are a nonnal phenomenon involving feelings which decrease the quality of life. Developing and implementing interventions to help FEP individuals to deal with feelings and helping them learn to adjust to the changes in their life, could keep them in treatment during the critical first years ofthe illness.