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. 2023 Mar;46(1):83-93.
doi: 10.1037/prj0000549.

Increasing community engagement: Skills used by adults with schizophrenia participating in a psychosocial intervention

Melanie E Bennett  1 , Lorrianne Kuykendall  1 , Kirsten Harvey  1 , Alicia Lucksted  2
Affiliations

Increasing community engagement: Skills used by adults with schizophrenia participating in a psychosocial intervention

Melanie E Bennett et al. Psychiatr Rehabil J. 2023 Mar.

Abstract

Objective: We present findings from a qualitative study aimed at understanding the experiences of Veterans with schizophrenia and negative symptoms who participated in trial of an intervention to increase social and community participation called Engaging in Community Roles and Experiences (EnCoRE). Our goal was to understand what participants (N = 36) perceived they learned in EnCoRE, how participants used what they learned in their daily lives, and if and how participants built on these experiences in ways that might lead to sustained change.

Method: Our analysis approach was inductive (bottom up), drawing on interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA; Conroy, 2003), plus some top-down examination of the role of EnCoRE elements in participants' accounts.

Results: We identified three themes: (a) Learning skills led to increased comfort talking to people and planning activities; (b) Increased comfort led to increased confidence to try new things; and (c) The group atmosphere offered support and accountability that helped participants practice and refine new skills.

Conclusions and implications for practice: The process of learning skills, planning to use them, implementing them, and returning to the group for input helped many surmount feelings of low interest and low motivation. Our findings support having proactive discussions with patients about how building confidence can support improved social and community participation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02469389.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Summary of Phase 2 Coding (Engagement Stories) Note. EnCoRE = engaging in community roles and experiences.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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