The Reconstruction of Identity in the Context of Severe Mental Illness: A Qualitative Study of the Recovery Process

Abstract

Despite the health and social problems resulting from a severe mental illness, there are cases of people diagnosed who manage to live a satisfactory life. This study focuses precisely on people who undergo positive and consolidated recovery processes over time. The objective is to understand the mechanisms that enable this achievement. To do so, a sample of 16 subjects aged between 33 and 63 years, who met this condition, was set up. Sample recruitment was carried out via the intermediation of professionals at mental health social care services in Catalonia (Spain). A qualitative research approach was employed, based on in-depth interviewing. The results highlight the importance of identity reconstruction in the recovery process. Three relevant factors that emerged during the course of the interviews associated with this reconstruction are identified and described as follows: a) the participants’ ability to provide a biographical meaning to the experience arising from the disorder; b) the presence of a discursive ability, manifested through the use of metaphors, that provides them with greater control over their identity narrative; and c) the establishment of group and collective identification relationships that allow them to overcome the negative self-perception associated with stigma. The findings reveal that identity reconstruction processes do not involve a return to “normality” prior to the onset of the disorder. Likewise, recovery itineraries develop through social dimensions and spaces that go beyond the context of healthcare. The appropriateness of continuing to conduct holistic and comprehensive research that allows delving into the richness and complexity of positive recovery experiences in the first person is brought to the fore.