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First episode psychosis represents a critical period for intervention to prevent future impairments and to initiate optimal interventions. Using an interpretive interactionist framework, a secondary analysis of interview transcripts was conducted based on the narratives of youth experiences of psychosis. Our goal was to better understand the factors involved in the decision to seek help (or not) from the mental health system. Findings suggest that help seeking is a social process involving a wide range of influences; two such influences are highlighted in this paper, an individual avoidant strategy of ignoring and hiding early symptoms, and the persuasive influence of significant others in the social network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The concept of motivation involves a complex interplay of biopsychosocial and environmental determinants. For individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, motivation has traditionally been approached from a neuro-biological standpoint, obscuring this complexity. The findings from this study underscore the importance of broadening our understanding of motivation and schizophrenia through an exploration of individual perspectives and identification of the psychosocial factors that clarify the experience of diminished motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the psychiatric literature, the meaning and importance of friendship has remained largely unexplored, subsumed under the rubric of social support or viewed as a component of community integration. Twenty-one qualitative interviews were conducted with individuals suffering from psychiatric disabilities focusing on the meaning of friendship as they described it. Analysis revealed the contrasts, contradiction and paradox of friendship for this group of people. The ongoing struggles of people with psychiatric disabilities regarding the need to connect with others and have friends, and conversely, the need to be alone and to withdraw from others, was highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines perceptions of tenants toward psychiatric services in neighborhoods in the United States. Description of accommodation process and experiences; Impact of a neighborhood on the quality of life of psychiatric patients; Indication of stigmatization for people with mental disability; Coping strategies for managing stigma in the community.