PSYCHOSIS IN HINDSIGHT: A COLLECTIVE RECOLLECTION OF THE ONSET OF PSYCHOSIS

Abstract

Psychotic disorders cause marked cognitive, perceptual, and social impairments and may lead to significant disability. Those affected with these illnesses may have great difficulty in educational, occupational, and social functioning; especially troubling is the fact that these illness often strike when those afflicted should be entering into some of the most productive years of their lives. The primary purpose of this study is to ascertain the perspective of subjects with psychotic disorders on the mental health system and treatment, stigmatization, social functioning, and symptom experience. This information will be of use in improving treatment engagement, compliance, and education of providers. Fifty subjects with nonaffective psychoses in each of two arms (new onset psychosis and chronic psychosis) will be enrolled and asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire. After subjects complete the questionnaire, investigators will review medical records to confirm subject age and diagnosis, compare subject report with symptomatology, and look for trends or topics of interest in comparing patient survey reports with medical records which may provide for useful insight upon further investigation.