14 Chapter 1 The recovery triad The journey of recovery is personal, but also undertaken with significant others: family and friends and professionals (39). It is important to know and understand the views of the members of this ‘triad’ on recovery, because they may influence the process in a positive or negative way (40). Having more knowledge about the collaboration between patients, family and mental health professionals during recovery may open opportunities to facilitate this partnership (41). Aim and research questions, and outline of this thesis The aim of the research in this thesis is to better understand the relationship between clinical and personal recovery in patients with psychosis and other severe mental illnesses (SMI). The questions that we want to answer are: • What is the strength of the relationship between clinical and personal recovery in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD)? In chapter 2 the relationship between clinical and personal recovery is explored by means of a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing literature in patients with SSD. • What is the correlation between the severity of clinical symptom domains and personal recovery in patients with SMI? In chapter 3 cross sectional data are presented of a study on the relationship between clinical symptom domains and personal recovery performed at Flexible Assertive Community Teams (42) of Mentrum, part of Arkin Institute for Mental Health, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The participants all have a severe mental illness (SMI), but vary in diagnosis (not only schizophrenia), which is common in mental healthcare. • What is the association between change in symptom severity and change in personal recovery in patients with SMI? In chapter 4 the longitudinal perspective of the study at Mentrum is described. After three years assessment was repeated to evaluate the association between change in symptom severity and change in personal recovery over time. • What is the subjective experience of clinical treatment interventions in personal recovery stories of patients with SMI? Chapter 5 shows the results of qualitative interviews with 26 participants from the quantitative study described in chapter 3 and 4. They were asked to reflect on the importance of clinical treatment interventions for their personal recovery process, both in a helping and a hindering sense.
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