No abstract

There were several components of the personal meanings of recovery from a first episode of psychosis and variations in the emphasis that individuals placed on each component. An overall positive outlook may be a function of younger age, shorter duration of illness, and receipt of client-centered comprehensive and phase-specific treatment. Improved understanding of personal notions of recovery can guide clinical practices to address service users' recovery goals.

Results suggest the importance of assistance with engagement in valued activities and relationships, and provision of messages of worth and hope for recovery.

Perceived social norms are an important contributor to an individual's social distance to those with mental illness. Messages designed to influence perceived social norms may help reduce stigmatization of the mentally ill.

P atients suffering from schizophrenia make many demands on the health care system over the course of their illness. Treatment of the first episode or early phase of schizophrenia is regarded as a crucial time for intervention (1). The literature supports the notion of a plateau effect (2), whereby any deterioration occurs aggressively in the first 2 to 3 years and critical psychosocial influences, including family's response and psychological reactions to psychosis and psychiatric services, develop during this period. Admission to hospital is the first psychiatric contact for most patients' FEP (3-4). Many of these patients obtain admission