How Does It Feel to Have One's Psychiatric Diagnosis Altered? Exploring Lived Experiences of Diagnostic Shifts in Adult Mental Healthcare.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Though the socio-emotional significance of psychiatric diagnoses and the frequency of transitions between diagnostic classifications are widely acknowledged, minimal research reveals how "diagnostic shifts" are subjectively experienced by psychiatric service-users.

Aim

This study investigated how adult service-users make sense of diagnostic shifts and their impacts on one's life.

Methods

Twenty-seven people with self-reported experiences of diagnostic shifts opted into this qualitative study. Virtual narrative interviews invited participants to share their "diagnosis stories." Interview transcripts were analyzed using narrative thematic analysis to identify common and divergent experiences across participants.

Results

Diverse experiences of diagnosti

SUBMITTER: O'Connor C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8873081 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature