Rewarding yet demanding: client perspectives on enabling occupations during early stages of recovery from schizophrenia

AIM: The purpose of this study, by exploring client perspectives, was to achieve a better understanding of how people with schizophrenia experience an occupational therapy intervention designed to enable them to carry out meaningful occupations in the early phases of recovery.

METHOD: A qualitative design comprising an eight-week client-centred occupational therapy intervention with semi-structured interviews with five of the six clients out of 10 who completed the intervention. Braun and Clark's thematic analysis was applied to the transcripts. Adherence rate and dropouts were recorded in a logbook. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure was used to initiate and guide the intervention and the Canadian Model of Client-Centred Enablement for the client-therapist relationship.

RESULTS: Participants described the intervention, which presupposed a certain level of patient readiness, as demanding. Participants valued engaging in real-life occupations while anchoring new strategies but also the occupational therapist's role in dealing with failure. Participants felt the intervention assisted in their recovery process and enabled them to engage in meaningful occupations.

CONCLUSION: The study provided unique insight into how participants experienced a client-centred partnership with an occupational therapist in the early phases of recovery. The intervention was feasible and supported the participants' recovery process.