The individualization and medicalization of the emotional distress of those given
psychiatric diagnoses deny the social, political, and economic context in which the
presenting behaviours arose and leads away from making changes to society. Some
people who are psychiatrically labelled join in groups for solidarity in the face of being
stigmatized. In these groups the members can resist the disempowerment and
helplessness learned in the psychiatric system. With co-researchers from a self-help
group this study gives expression to the usually silenced voices of psychiatrized
people. Feminist and standpoint theories, co-cultural and living systems theories form
a framework for this narrative study. A structural narrative method is used to analyze
the stories, found in the transcripts of six individual interviews, told by the co-researchers
about their experiences in psychiatric services and in the recovery
process. The stories reveal how the ideology and practices of psychiatry use stigma,
oppression and the creation of the identity of psychiatric patient for control and
management. The stories also reveal the reality of hope for recovery through the
support of peers and from the role models of those who have significantly recovered
their mental health. Two focus group interviews were conducted with members of the
self-help group where suggestions for programs were developed to address issues
raised within the groups and in the individual interviews. The findings of the research
will be reported to the self-help group who will use the study to back proposals for the
funding of recovery-oriented programs. When social workers and other mental health
professsionals recognize the importance of supporting the process of recovery,
consumer/survivor-run programs will be acknowledged as effective and integral parts
of any mental health system / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/10368 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Carson, Joanna Patricia |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Format | 15721810 bytes, application/pdf |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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