Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-sjtt6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-22T15:59:29.221Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 12 - Treatment Themes in Narrative Identity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2023

Dorthe Kirkegaard Thomsen
Affiliation:
Aarhus Universitet, Denmark
Tine Holm
Affiliation:
Aarhus Universitet, Denmark
Rikke Jensen
Affiliation:
Aarhus Universitet, Denmark
Majse Lind
Affiliation:
Aalborg University, Denmark
Anne Mai Pedersen
Affiliation:
Aarhus Universitet, Denmark
Get access

Summary

In Chapter 12, we develop subthemes concerning how our participants narrated treatment as a cost of their illness and how it contributed to well-being. We highlight how insights into the impact of treatment on narrative identity may aid healthcare professionals in providing the best possible support for individuals with mental illness. Generally, few stories seemed to follow a structure where increased well-being followed automatically from symptom remission, pointing to the need for psychiatric care that directly targets well-being. Being diagnosed was narrated with both positive and negative identity implications. Some participants evidenced subthemes revolving around inadequate access to help and negative treatment events, including hospitalizations and side effects of medicine. These subthemes may ground identity conclusions such as “I am harmed by treatment” and “no one cares.” When treatment contributed to well-being, subthemes featured the growing and agentic self: individuals striving to improve in treatment and noting their growth. Further subthemes concerned helpful relationships with staff, grounding identity implications such as “I am understood and supported by staff,” that may shape engagement with treatment and support personal recovery.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×