For professionals working with people who experience severe psychosis, increasing empirical evidence for the benefits of psychotherapy for psychosis has been especially welcome. Surviving, Existing, or Living takes a fresh look at severe psychosis, offering a heuristic model for understanding psychosis along a continuum of severity, from the extreme experience of acutely impairing psychosis to a more enriched life experience. Pamela Fuller emphasises that facilitating recovery from psychosis requires appropriately and effectively matching the type and timing of interventions to client readiness and capabilities.
Key Features
- Three Phases of Psychosis: Identifies the Surviving Phase, Existing Phase, and Living Phase, each addressing different preoccupations.
- Phase-Specific Interventions: Provides details of treatment interventions tailored to each phase.
- Clinical Case Examples: Rich examples are provided to highlight concepts and intervention types.
- Trauma-Specific and Group Interventions: Describes additional interventions for psychosis.
- Resilience Building: Offers ways to foster resilience in professionals working with individuals experiencing psychosis.
Additional Information
The need to consider each individual according to which of three primary issues/phases preoccupy the person with psychosis is essential for tailoring treatment. The three phases are:
- Surviving Phase: Preoccupation with survival.
- Existing Phase: Preoccupation with restriction of life experiences in order to cope.
- Living Phase: Preoccupation with quality of life and relationships.
Surviving, Existing, or Living examines the rationale for these three phases and provides a 'how to' guide for facilitating engagement and determining 'what to do when', including with those experiencing acute, severe psychosis. This guide aims to help individuals experiencing psychosis move from suffering to recovery, beyond surviving or existing toward a more fulfilling life experience.
