Method Participants

The diagnosis of schizophrenia may be contradictory: as a means of access and explanation v. a source of labelling and social exclusion.1,2 Evidence suggests it is an extremely powerful diagnosis that can have a devastating impact on a person’s self-identity.3 Stigma can lead individuals to internalise negative attitudes, resulting in low self-esteem and social isolation.4 Alternatively, individuals may resist stigma and have a strong sense of group identity and empowerment.5 Incorporating the ‘schizophrenic ’ identity into a new self-concept may be part of the recovery process.6 However, the importance of this experience remains largely silent within psychiatry and mental health services.7 Research has neglected perceptions of diagnosed individuals about the experience, thus failing to substantiate diagnosis as a phenomenon of consequence.8 The current research aimed to contribute to existing literature and inform the practice of giving the diagnosis of schizophrenia by exploring individuals ’ subjective experiences of receiving a diagnosis of schizophrenia and stigma relating to the diagnostic label