Emplacing recovery: how persons diagnosed with psychosis handle stress in cities

Abstract

The background of this study is recent work on the correlation between urban living and psychosis. It is part of a larger interdisciplinary research project using an experience-based approach to the city-psychosis nexus. The aim of this paper is to investigate how, soon after a first episode of psychosis, patients manage urban factors of stress. Methodologically, it is based on video-elicitation interviews of urban walks and ethnographic observations in a community care centre in the city of Lausanne, Switzerland. It shows that patients use three tactics: creating sensory bubbles; programming mobility; and creating places of comfort. On the basis of these findings, the paper discusses how the approach and results of our study can inform strategies of recovery that are both user-driven and take into consideration the importance of places and situations in the city in the phase following a first episode.

Keywords:

• Urban living
• schizophrenia
• first episode
• recovery

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper. Many thanks also to Margo Huxley for her helpful comments and excellent proofreading.