Talking about life after early psychosis: The impact on occupational performance

Background. In early psychosis, the phase of illness and developmental stage pose unique challenges to recovery and provision of services. Insight into subjective experience is needed to achieve optimal outcomes. Purpose. To understand the complex ways that early psychosis affects occupational performance. Methods. Phenomenology and occupational life history were used to explore lived experience of occupational performance with five participants. Three interviews with each person focused on life before, during, and following illness onset. Findings. Qualitative analysis identified eight themes describing how psychosis is experienced as a lifelong phenomenon, how changes in occupational performance occur as life unfolds around the acute episode, and how participants move ahead with their lives. Implications. Integration of developmental frameworks, focus on productive roles, and thoughtful application of client-centred practice emerge as issues with important practice implications as individuals develop awareness of disability and strive to maintain control over occupational choices and, ultimately, their lives.