Making sense of so-called 'delusions' - without medication.
20 October 2024
This study focuses on how people who have experienced apparent 'delusions' (or troublesome / powerful subjective beliefs, typically diagnosed as psychotic ) make sense of them, and integrate them, without the experience of medication. I will be exploring how individuals understand their prior experiences of extremely subjective unconventional beliefs outside the dominant approaches available in psychiatry.
For this particular study, five years will have passed since having these thoughts.
Requirements
- At least five years ago, you believed that you were someone or something else and/or you believed that something was happening that was not, objectively, possible; and
- You were not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time; and
- You no longer have these beliefs; and
- You have never taken any psychiatric medication; and
- You have a network of social support; and
- You are currently in full- or part-time employment (or professional training); and
- You would like to share your experiences, entirely anonymously, with a view to informing effective psychological interventions for those experiencing psychosis.
Keywords
Ethical approval
Ethical approval for this study was received from the Metanoia Research Ethics Committee (Metanoia Institute / Middlesex University) on 4th October 2024.
Researcher supervisor: Biljana Van Rijn - Metanoia Institute
About the researcher
It is now widely understood that psychotic experiences are deeply personal in nature; a means of self-expression, historically misunderstood. Having spent almost 20 years researching the various positions of the mental health system with regard to psychosis, it seems important to hear more from those who have experienced what would typically be diagnosed as 'psychotic delusion' (e.g. thinking that you are someone or something else, or that something is happening that could not objectively be happening, at least in the way perceived - amongst many other possibilities) but who have no experience of medication and instead have found other ways to understand, process and integrate their thoughts and beliefs. People with this unique experience are underrepresented in the collective knowledge available on psychosis and their stories could well inform further development of effective psychological support for those experiencing psychosis.
