Sammanfattning
Constant supervision in psychiatric care entails that a carer has constant watch over a patient. It
is based on a medical order but is also an important act of caring, with potential for close contact
between carer and patient. This study investigates both patients’ and carers’ perspectives of
constant supervision with focus on the aspect of caring. It aims to compare similarities and
differences in order to understand how constant supervision can be an act of caring. Seven patients
and six carers were interviewed about their personal experiences of constant supervision. Their
statements were interpreted using a life world hermeneutic method and three main themes emerged;
constant supervision against the patient’s will, against the carer’s will and as an alliance for
collaboration. One main interpretation points at parallel processes and that the constant supervision
requires a health care organization that values caring relations. The findings are discussed with help
from Foucault’s ideas on power and powerlessness.