It Does Take Two to Tango: An Applied Conversation Analysis of Interactions between a Psychiatrist and Service-Users Discussing Medication

Abstract

Decisions concerning psychiatric medication are complex and often involve a protracted process of trial and error. We examine three recorded meetings for power-sharing and power-taking discourse strategies employed by both the psychiatrist and mental health service-user, when discussing psychiatric medication. We identify examples of good practice, as well as missed opportunities to engage service-users in co-constructed dialogue, and highlight that participation and active involvement in decisions is not best seen as a fixed pattern, but is a complex interplay that changes both between and within interactions.