The role of spirituality within families’ experience of psychosis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
‘Families’ and the role of religion/spirituality in the context of psychosis: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of families’ experience and understanding of psychosis.
IRAS ID
179485
Contact name
Gemma Farndon
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Plymouth University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 10 months, 22 days
Research summary
Religion/spirituality (see Swinton, 2001 for a definition) is an under-represented topic within mental health research (Coyle, 2008). Within the literature relating to this topic, it appears that spirituality can play a role in the individual's experience as well as being a coping strategy for both the family and the individual during the recovery stage. However, the literature does not explore the spiritual dimension of the lived experiences of the individual and their family. Therefore, this study aims to explore, in the context of psychosis (see BPS, 2014 for a definition), if religion/spirituality plays a role in a family's understanding of their experience.
The families will be recruited through the family therapy services (psychosis clinics) in Plymouth and Cornwall. Each family, including the person who experiences psychosis, will be interviewed together to gather multiple perspectives and develop an understanding of the multiple social contracts of meaning, as well as exploring how religious ideas/discourses within a secular society may also shape experiences. A spiritual genogram (Frame, 2000) will be used as a template to help gather information about the families’ spiritual beliefs, practices, discourse and their experiences.
These interviews will be recorded on a Dictaphone, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Although IPA (see Smith, Flowers & Larkin, 2009 for a definition) is usually used for individual interviews, it has been applied for ‘focus group/interview hybrid’ designs (Palmer et al. 2010). Interviewing groups involves social interactions, therefore, it is recommended that the data is reviewed a second time to analyse the group patterns and dynamics (Palmer et al., 2010).
This research will be submitted as part of a Professional Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, a paper will be submitted to an appropriate journal, and we plan to present at conferences.REC name
West of Scotland REC 3
REC reference
16/WS/0080
Date of REC Opinion
15 Apr 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion