The Experience of a Psychological Treatment for Trauma: Perspectives from Young People with Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms and First Episode Psychosis

More than half of young people with first episode psychosis report exposure to childhood trauma, with a subgroup experiencing consequent comorbid post-traumatic stress symptoms. Trauma-focused interventions for individuals with psychosis are evolving, however the client perspective is not well represented in current literature. This thesis examines how young people with comorbid first episode psychosis and post-traumatic stress symptoms experienced a trauma-focused treatment. Overall, trauma-focused assessment and intervention was experienced as challenging and ultimately beneficial and worthwhile by the majority of our participants. Participant perspectives from this study shed light on what was valued as part of trauma-focused treatment, and provide insights into how early psychosis services can be made more sensitive and trauma-informed.