ABSTRACT
This personal testimony encapsulates the major theme that permeates this chapter. That is, this account illustrates the personal significance, meaning and trauma attached to the subjective experience of acute psychosis. Indeed, it is proposed that understanding the personal meaning and trauma attached to the experience of psychosis are critical stages in the development of a compassionate approach to the conceptualisation of psychological interventions aimed at enabling recovery from, and staying well after, psychosis. In this conceptualisation, it is also of great import to recognise psychosis as being a highly significant, frightening and distressing life event, with potentially ongoing ramifications. Relapse has been commonly defined as a recurrence or a deterioration of positive psychotic symptoms, which are associated with increased impairment in day-to-day functioning. There is little doubt that the recurrence of psychosis is a distressing and traumatic experience for individuals, families and loved ones. Thus, it is hardly surprising that relapse is often associated with hospital readmission, slower and less complete recovery, greater loss of social networks, vocational opportunities, and increased personal disability. Furthermore, and intrinsic within the definition of ‘relapse’, is the experience of an event repeating itself, carrying a corresponding appraisal that the event can no longer be rationalised as a ‘one-off’.
