The perception of well-being: Do people with severe psychiatric conditions and their therapists put themselves in each other's shoes?

Subjective well-being (SWB) has been shown to be linked to better prognosis but research on it in people with severe psychiatric conditions (SCP) is sparse. The main purpose of this study was to investigate SWB among individuals with SPC in comparison with the general population using a wide range of well-being measures. Also, we assessed the degree of agreement between professionals' and their corresponding patients' assessments of well-being. A total of 237 people with SPC and 34 referring staff members participated in this study. People with SPC reported significantly lower levels of hedonic well-being but preserved eudaimonic well-being compared to the general population. However, a substantial proportion of participants with SPC had an average or above-average SWB. We also found discrepancies between the well-being ratings of professionals and patients that were either negatively related or unrelated. These findings reinforce the importance of a more positive psychiatry, attuned to the patients' perception.