TY - JOUR
T1 - 'Listen to my madness'
T2 - understanding the experiences of people with serious mental illness
AU - Lester, Helen
AU - Tritter, Jonathan Q.
PY - 2005/7
Y1 - 2005/7
N2 - This article explores the salience of disability theory for understanding the experiences of people with serious mental illness. Drawing on data from a focus group study, we suggest that users experience both impairment (as embodied irrationality) which can, in itself, be oppressive, and also have to manage their lives within a largely disabling society. We outline some of the strategies adopted by users to manage their situation and ensure they access and receive health services, and illustrate how these are a result of the complex relationship between disability and impairment. We suggest that using a framework of the social model of disability provides a useful way of understanding and making sense of the experience of users with serious mental illness.
AB - This article explores the salience of disability theory for understanding the experiences of people with serious mental illness. Drawing on data from a focus group study, we suggest that users experience both impairment (as embodied irrationality) which can, in itself, be oppressive, and also have to manage their lives within a largely disabling society. We outline some of the strategies adopted by users to manage their situation and ensure they access and receive health services, and illustrate how these are a result of the complex relationship between disability and impairment. We suggest that using a framework of the social model of disability provides a useful way of understanding and making sense of the experience of users with serious mental illness.
KW - serious mental illness
KW - disability
KW - impairment
KW - embodied irrationality
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=23744505145&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9566.2005.00460.x/abstract
U2 - 10.1111/j.1467-9566.2005.00460.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1467-9566.2005.00460.x
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:23744505145
SN - 0141-9889
VL - 27
SP - 649
EP - 669
JO - Sociology of health and illness
JF - Sociology of health and illness
IS - 5
ER -