Beate Schrank

Hope in psychiatry: a review of the literature.

Objective:  Hope has long been considered an important therapeutic factor in medicine, nursing and mental health and recently received attention as a central component of recovery. However, conceptual clarity, applicability and the predictive value of hope remain unclear. This review aims to define hope, review current approaches to assessment, and outline research evidence linking hope with effectiveness.

The impact of the social network, stigma and empowerment on the quality of life in patients with schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE The quality of life (QOL) of patients with schizophrenia has been found to be positively correlated with the social network and empowerment, and negatively correlated with stigma and depression. However, little is known about the way these variables impact on the QOL. The study aims to test the hypothesis that the social network, stigma and empowerment directly and indirectly by contributing to depression influence the QOL in patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders. METHOD Data were collected on demographic and clinical variables, internalized stigma, perceived devaluation and discrimination, empowerment, control convictions, depression and QOL. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was applied to examine the impact of the above-mentioned constructs on QOL. RESULTS The influences of the social network, stigma, empowerment and depression on QOL were supported by the SEM. A poor social network contributed to a lack of empowerment and stigma, which resulted in depression and, in turn, in poor QOL. Interestingly, however, the social network and stigma did not show a direct effect on QOL. CONCLUSION Following a recovery approach in mental health services by focusing on the improvement of the social network, stigma reduction and especially on the development of personal strength has the potential to reduce depression in patients with psychosis and improving their QOL.

Determinants, self-management strategies and interventions for hope in people with mental disorders: Systematic search and narrative review

Developing a recovery focus in mental health services is a policy goal internationally, and hope is a central component of recovery. Yet determinants of hope of people with mental disorders are not well known, nor are strategies and interventions that increase hope. This study aims to systematically summarise the available evidence to fill four relevant knowledge gaps: (1) hope scales used in psychiatric research, (2) determinants of hope, (2) hope-fostering self-management strategies, and (3) interventions to increase hope for people with mental disorders. We conducted a systematic literature search in April 2011 and a narrative synthesis of publications including qualitative and quantitative studies. Results for the first time provide a comprehensive overview of existing evidence and identify important scientific knowledge gaps: (1) Hope scales used do slightly vary in focus but are overall comparable. (2) Most published research used cross-sectional designs resulting in a high number of potential determinants of hope. No studies prospectively investigated the influence of these determinants. (3) Hope fostering self-management strategies of people with mental disorders were described in qualitative studies only with experimental studies completely missing. (4) While some recovery oriented interventions were shown to increase hope as a secondary outcome, there are no successful interventions specifically aimed at increasing hope. This review provides the basis for both practical and research recommendations: The five most promising candidate interventions to improve hope in people with mental disorders are (i) collaborative strategies for illness management, (ii) fostering relationships, (iii) peer support, (iv) helping clients to assume control and to formulate and pursue realistic goals, and (v) specific interventions to support multiple positive factors such as self-esteem, self-efficacy, spirituality and well-being. These may serve to directly improve care and to develop theory-based models and testable interventions to improve hope in mental health as well as in allied fields.

How Patients With Schizophrenia Use the Internet: Qualitative Study

Background The Internet is an important source of health information for people with psychiatric conditions. Little is known about the way patients with schizophrenia use the Internet when it comes to issues related to their illness. Data on their specific needs, difficulties, and the consequences related to Internet use are lacking. Objective Our objective was to investigate the nature and subjective consequences of health-related Internet use among patients with schizophrenia. Methods In all, 26 individual semistructured interviews were conducted and analyzed qualitatively in groups of 4 until theoretical saturation was achieved. Results Study results suggest that the Internet is an influential source of illness-related information for patients with schizophrenia. Many aspects of their behavior around the Internet resemble those of individuals not afflicted by mental illness. Importantly, problems specific to patients with schizophrenia were stimulus overflow, an inability to deal with the abundance of information, difficulties with concentration, lack of energy, paranoid ideas, symptom provocation, and the need to distance themselves from illness-related topics as part of the recovery process. Internet information was subjectively perceived as having the potential to significantly change patients’ attitudes toward medication and their relationships with doctors. Conclusions These findings provide insight into how individuals with schizophrenia handle illness-related Internet information. The data could contribute to the continuous development of Internet-based interventions and offer novel approaches to optimizing traditional treatment options.

Development and validation of an integrative scale to assess hope

Background  Hope includes the dimensions of time, goals, control, relations and personal characteristics. Existing tools that measure it vary in length and psychometric properties and cover different parts of its overall concept.

Insight, positive and negative symptoms, hope, depression and self-stigma: a comprehensive model of mutual influences in schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Aims. Insight, positive and negative symptoms, hope, depression and self-stigma are relevant variables in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. So far, research on their mutual influences has been patchy. This study simultaneously tests the associations between these variables. Methods. A total of 284 people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders were assessed using the Schedule for the Assessment of Insight, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, Integrative Hope Scale, Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale and Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness scale. Path analysis was applied to test the hypothesized relationships between the variables. Results. Model support was excellent. Strong and mutual causal influences were confirmed between hope, depression and self-stigma. The model supported the assumption that insight diminishes hope and increases depression and self-stigma. While negative symptoms directly affected these three variables, reducing hope and increasing depression and self-stigma, positive symptoms did not. However, positive symptoms diminished self-stigma on a pathway via insight. Conclusions. This study provides a comprehensive synopsis of the relationships between six variables relevant for schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Research implications include the need to investigate determinants of consequences of insight, and the sequence of influences exerted by positive and negative symptoms. Clinical implications include the importance of interventions against self-stigma and of taking a contextualized approach to insight.

Conceptualising and measuring the well-being of people with psychosis: Systematic review and narrative synthesis

Well-being has become a prominent term in the political arena in recent years. However, in research the concept and use of well-being has been unclear, especially in the context of severe mental illness such as psychosis. This systematic review aims to characterise the evidence base relating to well-being in people with psychosis, by reviewing how well-being is measured, developing a new conceptual framework, and summarising empirical evaluations of psychosocial interventions to improve well-being. We conducted a systematic review and narrative synthesis of controlled trials of interventions investigating well-being in people with psychosis. The 28 studies meeting the inclusion criteria used 20 different measures of well-being. Five dimensions of well-being emerged: non-observable, observable, proximal, distal, and self-defined. Interventions to improve well-being vary widely. The investigated interventions have been targeted at non-observable, observable and proximal levels, while evaluation measures span all five dimensions. This review offers an evidence based conceptual framework of well-being which can provide an empirical basis for organising future well-being research in psychosis. The review also shows that the evidence base for interventions is small and methodologically weak. Recommendations are made for choosing well-being measures for future research.

The Gender Gap in High-Impact Psychiatry Journals

Purpose The number of women in medicine generally and in psychiatry specifically has increased considerably during the past 40 years, but the lack of advancement of women in academic medicine is still concerning. This study explores the changes in female authorship patterns in three high-impact general psychiatric journals. Method The authors categorized articles published in 1994 and 2007 by the Archives of General Psychiatry, The American Journal of Psychiatry, and The British Journal of Psychiatry according to the characteristics of the psychiatric research and the gender of each author for all articles. Results Overall, the percentage of female authors increased from 24.6% in 1994 to 33.6% in 2007. The authors found the greatest increases in the percentages of female authors in the areas most relevant to an academic career—first authorship (from 17.1% in 1994 to 35.3% in 2007) and original research articles (from 18.4% in 1994 to 42.7% in 2007)—and in articles on the topic with the most growth over the same time frame—neuroimaging (from 14.7% in 1994 to 43.2% in 2007). The percentages of female authors of editorials rose from only 13.5% in 1994 to 26.2% in 2007. In 2007, women made up only 25% of the editorial boards of the journals under study (up from 16% in 1994). Conclusions Despite considerable gains, women still are underrepresented in academic psychiatry, including in leadership positions. Ongoing efforts and interventions are required to promote further advances and gender equity.

Gender differences in caregiver burden and its determinants in family members of terminally ill cancer patients

Female family caregivers consistently report higher levels of stress and burden compared to male caregivers. Explanations for the apparently higher psychological vulnerability of female caregivers are largely missing to date. This study assesses the correlates and determinants of caregiver burden in family caregivers of advanced cancer patients with a specific focus on gender differences.

Evaluation of a positive psychotherapy group intervention for people with psychosis: pilot randomised controlled trial.

AIMS Third-wave psychological interventions have gained relevance in mental health service provision but their application to people with psychosis is in its infancy and interventions targeting wellbeing in psychosis are scarce. This study tested the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of positive psychotherapy adapted for people with psychosis (WELLFOCUS PPT) to improve wellbeing. METHODS WELLFOCUS PPT was tested as an 11-week group intervention in a convenience sample of people with psychosis in a single centre randomised controlled trial (ISRCTN04199273) involving 94 people with psychosis. Patients were individually randomised in blocks to receive either WELLFOCUS PPT in addition to treatment as usual (TAU), or TAU only. Assessments took place before randomisation and after the therapy. The primary outcome was wellbeing (Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, WEMWBS). Secondary outcomes included symptoms (Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale), depression (Short Depression-Happiness Scale), self-esteem, empowerment, hope, sense of coherence, savouring beliefs and functioning, as well as two alternative measures of wellbeing (the Positive Psychotherapy Inventory and Quality of Life). Intention-to-treat analysis was performed. This involved calculating crude changes and paired-sample t-tests for all variables, as well as ANCOVA and Complier Average Causal Effect (CACE) Analysis to estimate the main effect of group on all outcomes. RESULTS The intervention and trial procedures proved feasible and well accepted. Crude changes between baseline and follow-up showed a significant improvement in the intervention group for wellbeing according to all three concepts assessed (i.e., WEMWBS, Positive Psychotherapy Inventory and Quality of Life), as well as for symptoms, depression, hope, self-esteem and sense of coherence. No significant changes were observed in the control group. ANCOVA showed no main effect on wellbeing according to the primary outcome scale (WEMWBS) but significant effects on symptoms (p = 0.006, ES = 0.42), depression (p = 0.03, ES = 0.38) and wellbeing according to the Positive Psychotherapy Inventory (p = 0.02, ES = 0.30). Secondary analysis adapting for therapy group further improved the results for symptom reduction (p = 0.004, ES = 0.43) and depression (p = 0.03, ES = 0.41) but did not lead to any more outcomes falling below the p = 0.05 significance level. CACE analysis showed a non-significant positive association between the intervention and WEMWBS scores at follow-up (b = 0.21, z = 0.9, p = 0.4). CONCLUSIONS This study provides initial evidence on the feasibility of WELLFOCUS PPT in people with psychosis, positively affecting symptoms and depression. However, more work is needed to optimise its effectiveness. Future research might evaluate positive psychotherapy as a treatment for comorbid depression in psychosis, and consider alternative measurements of wellbeing.