Mental health support and psychotherapy in Parkinson's: from misalignments to meaningful interactions

Mental health is often compromised over the long course of Parkinson's disease (PD). Yet research on psychological interventions remains scarce and evidence is limited. This comprehensive study adopts a broad lens to understand the real-world experiences of people with Parkinson's (PwP) who have accessed professional psychological support (PPS) often repeatedly.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 PwP, exploring experiences with PPS in the context of PD.

Inductive thematic analysis identified four main themes. The first, 1) Invisible inaccessibility, underscores the challenges in accessing PPS. The second 2) Missing the mark, explores the shortcomings of PPS. Theme 3) Empowering elements, highlights helpful PPS components. Theme 4) Reinvention and regrowth, captures the positive impact of PPS.

Our findings highlight both the challenges and potential transformational power of psychological support in PD. The toll of support-seeking in PD, compounded by an often ineffectual psychotherapeutic experience for PwP is disheartening. Nevertheless, when therapeutic support is truly relevant, it empowers PwP to move beyond an illness-centred mindset towards adaptation and personal growth. Drawing from rich real-world PwP experiences, we provide recommendations for optimising psychological support to improve mental health in PD.