Facilitators of posttraumatic growth in family members of persons with experiences of psychosis: a thematic synthesis

Ian Kearney, Angela Veale and Mike Murphy

Psychosis, 2024, vol. 16, issue 2, 193-206

Abstract: AimsPosttraumatic growth (PTG) refers to positive psychological changes that can occur from the struggle with traumatic experiences. Literature suggests the caregiving experience in psychosis is one which can be highly traumatic. Yet, more recently, a small but growing body of research suggests that positive aspects to caring as well as growth narratives can also result from this experience. The aim of this review was to identify facilitators of PTG in family members caring for an individual with psychosis.MethodsThe review utilised thematic synthesis to analyse the included qualitative studies. A search of nine electronic databases was performed (Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, MEDLINE, PILOTS, ProQuest Central, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science). Qualitative studies were included if any domains of PTG were reported.ResultsA total of twelve papers, including 156 participants met inclusion criteria and were analysed in the review. Thematic synthesis yielded four overarching themes, along with a number of subthemes: Unbreakable Family Bond, Meaning Making through Suffering, Strength through Solidarity and Accepting the Journey.DiscussionFindings of this review suggest that caregivers can and do experience PTG when certain facilitators are present. Professionals can play a vital role in supporting caregivers to adjust to and progress along their journey in developing posttraumatic growth.

Date: 2024
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/17522439.2023.2175233 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:rpsyxx:v:16:y:2024:i:2:p:193-206

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/RPSY20

DOI: 10.1080/17522439.2023.2175233

Access Statistics for this article

Psychosis is currently edited by Dr John Read

More articles in Psychosis from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().