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. 2020 Dec;15(1):1747252.
doi: 10.1080/17482631.2020.1747252.

A narrative study of mental health recovery: exploring unique, open-ended and collective processes

Nina Petersen Reed  1 , Staffan Josephsson  2 , Sissel Alsaker  1
Affiliations

A narrative study of mental health recovery: exploring unique, open-ended and collective processes

Nina Petersen Reed et al. Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being. 2020 Dec.

Abstract

Purpose: Guided by narrative theory and by use of a narrative-in-action approach, the aim of this study was to explore how mental health recovery unfolds through individuals' engagement in everyday activities.Method: Data were created through participant observations with four individuals while doing everyday activities, and analysed through a narrative, interpretive approach.Findings: The findings show how mental health recovery involves unique and open-ended processes of narrative meaning-making, which unfold through an interplay between everyday activities, places and persons.Discussion: Based on these findings, we discuss how we may understand and support mental health recovery as collective processes.

Keywords: Ethnography; everyday activities; meaning making; mental health; narrative; participant observation; recovery.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

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