Service users’ experiences of the impact of mental health crisis on social identity and social
relations
Engelsk titel: Service users’ experiences of the impact of mental health crisis on social identity and social
relations
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Författare:
Gullslett, Monika K
;
Kim, Hessok Suzie
;
Borg, Marit
Email: monika.gullslett@hbv.no
Språk: Eng
Antal referenser: 68
Dokumenttyp:
Artikel
UI-nummer: 15053811
Sammanfattning
The aim of this paper is to explore and understand people’s experiences of social identity,
social relations and stigma in the context of their mental health crises. In-depth interviews, based on
phenomenological-hermeneutical methodology, were carried out with seven persons. All had
experienced being in and out of mental health crisis for several years. They had all received
inpatient treatment as well as support from a Crisis resolution home treatment team (CR/HT). The
study was carried out in a rural Norwegian area including a medium-sized town. Through qualitative
analysis based on phenomenological-hermeneutical methods one main theme, "experiences of being
looked down on" was identified and divided into four sub-themes; «once mentally ill, always mentally
ill», «labelled by oneself», «labelled by social networks» and «labelled in mental health services».
The informants described that the experiences of being looked down on varied in different situations.
Stigma in services was also revealed, and the service-users’ position as outsiders was experienced
as a difficult barrier in their recovery process. The first person narratives of labelling, stigma and
social exclusion bring our understanding of mental health crisis experiences to a far more concrete
level, both regarding impact on personhood and social identity.