[The use of lived experiences among psychiatrists: a qualitative empirical exploration]

Psychiatrists generally make little use of lived experiences in addition to clinical and scientific knowledge, even while its use may make services more humane.

This study aims to explore psychiatrists’ lived experience perspectives and their considerations when integrating the personal into the professional domain.

As part of a qualitative participatory research approach, peer supervision sessions were followed for 2 years and additional interviews and a focus group were organised which were then analysed thematically.

The participating psychiatrists had three main considerations for using their own experiences in clinical practice: personal, professional and clinical relevance. We identified 11 facilitating and 9 hindering factors in working with lived experiences related to clinical practice. In addition to the high workload and responsibility as a practitioner, a barrier is the lack of experience and recognition of this as a type of knowledge within the profession, including misconceptions about possible harmful effects. Facilitating factors included the opportunity to share with peers, a warm working relationship with patients and being able to create openness and destigmatisation among colleagues.

Psychiatrists appreciated the integration of lived experiences into the professional domain, even though still in its infancy. The peer supervision setting in this study was experienced as a safe space to share personal experiences with vulnerability and explore how they can harness lived experiences in the work context.