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Accessible Summary: What Is Known on the Subject?: The decision to apply for disability benefits may be an important breakthrough in the life of people with severe mental illness.The literature regarding the process of applying for mental health disability benefits is scarce. What the Paper Adds to Existing Knowledge?: This study is, to the best of our knowledge, the first to fully describe the experience of submitting a claim for mental health disability benefits, as experienced by those diagnosed with severe mental illness.The process of applying for recognition of a mental health disability has three chronological stages—before the claim submission, during the claims process and after recognition.Clients approach the process without any prior knowledge, and therefore they need professional help when submitting their claim.A deterioration in clients' mental health prompts them to apply.A lack of trust in the system affects the application decision/process.The medical committee hearing is described as a complex and multifaceted experience.Clients reported being extensively preoccupied with stigma throughout the process. What Are the Implications for Practice?: Professional assistance throughout the claims process is a key factor with the potential to change clients' experience of the entire process.It is important to educate mental health nurses about the disability applicating process.Mental health professionals are encouraged to be mindful of the facilitating/hindering mechanisms that are dominant at each stage of the process.There is a need for liaising with relevant agencies that act as advocates for those diagnosed with a mental health illness. Introduction: The decision to apply for disability benefits may be an important breakthrough in the life of those diagnosed with severe mental illness (SMI). Nevertheless, the literature regarding the application process is scarce. Aim: The aim of the study was to explore how people who receive mental health disability benefits retrospectively perceive the process of applying for and receiving these benefits. Methods: Twenty‐four in‐depth qualitative interviews were conducted with people whose mental health disability was recognized in the past few years. Results: Analysis revealed three themes describing the process's chronological stages: Before submitting the claim (from deterioration to trust), during the claim process (from bureaucracy to understanding), after receiving recognition (from stigma to gratitude). Each stage includes facilitating factors (e.g. encouragement from professionals) and hindering factors (e.g. stigma, lack of knowledge and trust). Discussion: This is the first study to fully describe the experience of applying for mental health disability benefits, as experienced by clients. The decision to apply is perceived as complex and difficult. Although clients are extensively preoccupied with stigma throughout the process, they are able to express gratitude for the opportunities made available to them. Implications: Professional assistance throughout the claim is a key factor with the potential to change clients' experience of the entire process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accessible summary: What is known on the subject: Alcohol addiction is manifested by periods of abstinence and relapse in which the individual returns to previous problematic alcohol use. This may lead to unstable and stressful routines for the family and for women who live with a spouse diagnosed with an AUD.AUD may mentally and physically affect women living with a spouse diagnosed with AUD with respect to relapse. However, most studies have focused on the influence of AUD in general, and the way they cope with it; few have dealt with the experience of relapse as a distinctive stage. What the paper adds to existing knowledge: Women's experiences of their spouses' relapses are embedded within their broader life experience in the shadow of alcohol addiction.The pattern of transitions from closeness to distance in the ways women think, feel and actively respond to their spouses' relapses shows similarities with the ways in which individuals cope with repeated trauma. This helps relate these women's experiences of their spouses' repeated relapses to the potential complex trauma these women experience and leads to a better understanding of the internal emotional dynamics of these women's behavioural patterns. What are the implications for practice: These women need a therapeutic solution that can help them cope with longstanding emotional burdens.Therapists should be sensitive to the complexity of their experience. When relevant, therapy should be based on therapeutic strategies from trauma practice, along with Alcohol Behavioural Couples Therapy that can reinforce the couple's mutual efforts to achieve sobriety or reduce AUD severity Introduction: Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is manifested by periods of remission and relapse which can serve as a source of continuous stressors on the individuals and family. Women living with a spouse diagnosed with AUD can be mentally and physically affected by this behaviour. Most studies have focused on the general influence of AUD on these women and their attempts to cope with AUD; there are scant data on the influences of relapse as a distinctive stage. Aim: To better understand how women whose spouses are diagnosed with AUD experience their relapses. Method: A qualitative‐naturalistic approach was implemented. Semi‐structured, in‐depth interviews were conducted with 12 women whose spouses were diagnosed with AUD. Results: Content analysis revealed three main categories representing the transitions from: a) ignorance to realization, b) emotional opposition to acceptance and c) activity to inactivity. Each category reflects one cognitive, emotional or behavioural dimension of this experience. The overarching theme emerged as shifts from closeness to distance in the way these women think, feel and actively respond to their spouse's relapses and addiction. Discussion: The shift from closeness to distance as manifested by the three transitions is argued to reflect the ways these women experience and cope with the chronic nature of AUD. It is suggested that this experience parallels the phenomenology of symptoms of complex trauma. Implications for practice: Nurses should be alert to the potential accumulative stressors experienced by these women and implement intervention strategies developed in the trauma field in addition to Alcohol Behavioural Couples Therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]