Listening to patients’ narratives can help improve quality of psychosis care

Doctors have been urged to go back to basics in mental health care and listen to the narratives of people with experience of psychosis as a foundation for improving treatment and services and bringing hope of recovery to those in crisis.

The call came at the launch of a new section of the health website Healthtalkonline. The section on psychosis is based on in depth interviews with a cross section of 34 people, including three carers, talking about their experience of persecutory voices. It covers issues such as what to expect from medication and emergency treatment as well as ways of coping—with a mix of trenchant criticisms of mental health services alongside examples of splendid care.

Listening to experiences was held up as a way forward from the current situation where “schizophrenia is the ninth leading …