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A recovery-oriented, cognitive behavioural workshop for service users diagnosed with schizophrenia was developed, implemented and evaluated in a pilot study. Further analysis is required regarding factors which contribute to better treatment response, as this will provide useful information for workshop adaptation. Secondary multilevel model analyses were performed to determine whether workshop and booster session attendance, as well as sociodemographic variables such as gender, age, education, and duration of illness, predicted workshop responsiveness. Results showed that completers had lower responsiveness to the workshop in terms of confidence and hope, whereas those who attended an online booster session demonstrated better responsiveness as to psychosocial functioning. Longer duration of illness and older age generally predicted lower intervention responsiveness. In conclusion, adaptations utilising more booster sessions and accommodating older participants with longer duration of illness are required, as is further workshop evaluation in a randomised controlled study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To examine the roles of loneliness and clinician- and self-rated depressive symptoms as predictors of the subjective quality of life (QoL) in psychosis.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 207 patients diagnosed with psychotic disorders. They were assessed with self-reported measures of QoL, loneliness and depression and with clinician-rated measures of depression and overall psychopathology. Multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) modeling was used to analyze the data.Results: Both loneliness and depression turned out to be independent predictors of impaired QoL. However, once loneliness was accounted for, the effect of depression on QoL was markedly reduced and the effect of loneliness proved to be visibly larger. Self-rated depression was found to be more strongly associated with QoL than clinician-rated depression. Each type of depression measure explained a unique amount of variance in QoL. Depression moderated the relationship between loneliness and QoL in such a way that the negative effect of loneliness on QoL weakened with the increasing intensity of depressive symptoms.Conclusions: Therapeutic programs aiming to enhance the QoL of people with psychotic disorders should incorporate interventions targeting both loneliness and depression and need to be tailored to the clinical status of patients. The emphasis on alleviating loneliness should be placed first of all in the case of those with low levels of depression, among whom the negative impact of loneliness on QoL is especially strong. Researchers should be aware that the method chosen for assessing depressive symptoms in models predicting QoL in psychosis matters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To elucidate the mechanism through which internalized stigma reduces the quality of life (QoL) of people with mental illness by exploring the mediating roles of self-esteem and sense of coherence (SOC).Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of 229 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or affective disorders was undertaken to test a sequential mediation model assuming that more severe internalized stigma is related to lower self-esteem, which is associated with weaker SOC, which in turn relates to worse QoL.Results: The proposed model was supported by the data. A sequential indirect effect from internalized stigma to QoL via self-esteem and SOC turned out to be significant [beta = -0.06, SE = 0.02; 95% CI (-0.11, -0.03)]. Support was also found for simple mediation models with either self-esteem or SOC as single mediators between internalized stigma and QoL.Conclusions: Self-esteem and SOC are personal resources that should be considered as potential targets of interventions aiming to prevent the harmful consequences of internalized stigma for the QoL of people receiving psychiatric treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to explore definitions of recovery among Polish service users with lived experience of schizophrenia and to hear their recommendations regarding elements that should be considered in the planning of a recovery oriented psychosocial intervention. Four semi-structured focus groups were conducted in the Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology in Warsaw, Poland. A total of 28 service users' narratives were examined using the inductive thematic analysis approach. Five main recovery themes emerged from the combined users accounts, listed in order of frequency: psychological dimension of recovery, relationships with others, wellness strategies, clinical understanding of recovery and support systems. Service user recommendations referred to the above identified recovery themes as well as indications that the intervention should be flexible, individualized, and facilitative of personal growth. The findings indicate that for service users with lived experience of schizophrenia in Poland it is culturally feasible to embrace the person-oriented approach to practice and develop a recovery-oriented psychosocial intervention emphasizing psychological domains of recovery such as positive identity, personal strengths, or meaning and purpose in life alongside the other relevant recovery dimensions. Actions regarding the system level of change are also required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stigmatization can exert a variety of pernicious effects on the lives of persons with mental illnesses. The purpose of this study was to explore factors related to the psychosocial impact of stigma among 229 people receiving psychiatric treatment: 123 with schizophrenia [ International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10): F20] and 106 with affective disorders (ICD-10: F31-F33). In the whole sample, the factors most prominently associated with a greater impact of stigma on personal and family life were schizophrenia diagnosis, current inpatient treatment, actually experienced stigma and self-stigma. However, the patterns of predictors varied between the two diagnostic categories. For the schizophrenia group, only self-stigma significantly contributed to a stronger stigma impact. In the affective group, a more severe impact of stigma was significantly predicted by inpatient status and experienced stigma. Anti-stigma programs should address the specific features of stigmatization associated with various psychiatric diagnoses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]