Whispering on the water: British Pakistani families' experiences of support from an early intervention service for first-episode psychosis

In the context of one of the United Kingdom's Early Intervention Services (EIS) for psychosis, we set out to explore the treatment experiences of families of Pakistani origin, and their beliefs about treatment and psychosis. We took a phenomenological and hermeneutic approach. In-depth interviews were conducted with 11 British Pakistanis, from six families. All participants were involved in caring for family members who were being treated within an EIS. Data were subjected to Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. We identified three super-ordinate themes: 'A Story of Loss, 'A Social Illness,' and 'Divergent Points on the Path to Change.' These reflected the impact on participants' lives; their understandings of the problem and possible solutions; and their use of a range of cultural resources. Some aspects of these caregivers' understandings of psychosis, caring, and treatment overlap with those ascribed to caregivers generally. We discuss their culturally-specific understandings, and the implications for practice and policy.