The experience of psychologists working with patients diagnosed with psychosis : a qualitative study

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the experience of psychologists working with patients diagnosed with psychosis. This study adopted an Interpretative Phenomenological Approach (IPA) originally proposed by Smith (1996). The participants for this study were 3 clinical psychologists and 2 counselling psychologists, of mixed gender. All participants had experience in working with psychotic patients. The interviews held were audio-recorded and translated verbatim. Data was analysed by means of IPA and five superordinate themes emerged: ‘Intervention for Psychosis’, ‘Encountering the Depths’, ‘Overcoming the Challenges’, ‘We Are Not Gods’ and ‘Striving to Help’. The participants discussed challenges encountered in their line of work and described coping strategies utilized to overcome these challenges.