Abstract
This study aims to explore the nature of difficulty in living for patients with schizophrenia after recovery stage and the structure of nursing interventions for them. Three patients with first episode schizophrenia who were living in community were interviewed by focusing on strengthening their ego. The interviews were conducted by three experienced nurses. The length of interview ranged from 17 to 30 months, and the number of interviews for each patient ranged from 15 to 52 sessions. The nature of difficulty in living and the strategies used by interviewers were extracted and categorized from the records they made immediate after each interview session. The difficulty in living was under [the restrictions of every day life] due to [conflict with others] while fighting with [the thoughts bout self with an illness] on [the difficulty in living related to psychopathology]. That also prevented them from feeling self as a certain self, and [the uncertain self] promoted their difficulty in living. Interviewers analyzed what patients said and developed the conversations by utilizing various communication skills. Through this process interviewers realized their own perplexity, limitations and tendencies, and the diverse potential of patients. Patients exhibited changes in their living by experiencing various life experiences through the long-term interaction with interviewers. Interviewers took on a role of [being reflections of patients] by attempting to relive the experiences of them. This role promoted patients' experience, simultaneously it resulted in important factor of ego strengthening.
