"I will never forget him". A qualitative exploration of staff descriptions of helpful relationships in supportive housing.

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Recovery-oriented studies show that the quality of the professional relationship plays an essential role in the recovery from mental illness. Within mental health care in general, previous studies show that helpful professional relationships are characterized by several reciprocal aspects, such as friendship resemblance and self-disclosure. The literature is scarce on in-depth explorations of professional relationships within the often long-lasting and intimate help context of institutional supportive housing. Explorations of staff members' experiences are absent. The scientific rationale of this study was to expand the current knowledge about professional rel…

Change is an ongoing ethical event: Levinas, Bakhtin and the dialogical dynamics of becoming

In this article, we use the intersubjective ethics of Bakhtin and Levinas and a case illustration to explore change in therapy as an ethical phenomenon. We follow Lakoff and Johnson in their emphasis on the way our conceptions of change seem permeated by metaphors. Bakhtin and Levinas both suggest through a language in which metaphors play a crucial role, that human existence—the consciousness and the subject—emerge within the dialogue of the encounter. They both describe the dynamics of human existence as ethical in their origin. Following this, we argue that change may be seen as an ongoing ethical event and that the dynamics of change are found in the ways we constantly become in this ev…

‘Through speaking, he finds himself … a bit’: Dialogues Open for Moving and Living through Inviting Attentiveness, Expressive Vitality and New Meaning

Studies exploring the experiences of recovering from mental health difficulties show the significance of social and relational aspects. Dialogical practices operate within the realm of social relations; individual perspectives are not the primary focus of attention. The present study is part of a series of qualitative studies from southern Norway, exploring dialogical practices and change from the perspective of lived experience and in relationship with network meetings. Two co-researchers, who themselves had experienced mental health difficulties, were part of the research team. Material from qualitative interviews was analysed through a dialogical hermeneutical process where ideas from Em…

‘It’s not just a lot of words’. A qualitative exploration of residents’ descriptions of helpful relationships in supportive housing

Author's accepted manuscript. This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in European Journal of Social Work on 24/10/2019, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13691457.2019.1682523.

“She Offered Me a Place and a Future”: Change is an Event of Becoming Through Movement in Ethical Time and Space

Published version of an article in the journal: Contemporary Family Therapy. Also available from the publisher at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10591-014-9317-3 Within mental health research, the promise of exploring the lived experience of those affected is increasingly acknowledged. This research points to the significance of social aspects. The present study is part of a series of qualitative studies exploring network-oriented practices in southern Norway. The aim of this study was to explore the social dynamics of change related to adolescents in psychosocial crises. From the perspective of lived experience the study focused changes related to the adolescents’ ways of existing in various …

Bofellesskap, bil og relasjoner : En utforsking av ansattes og beboeres erfaringer med og ønsker om bilbruk

Hjelpsomme relasjoner i bofellesskap. Et bidrag til kunnskapsbasert praksis

The paper I is excluded from the dissertation with respect to copyright. Bakgrunn: Ifølge forskning innen både samtalebasert psykoterapi, psykiatriske institusjoner og lokalbasert psykisk helsearbeid, har kvaliteten på relasjonen mellom den profesjonelle og tjenestebrukeren stor betydning for tjenestebrukerens utbytte av hjelpen som gis. Hensikt: Hensikten med denne studien var å få kunnskap om profesjonelle relasjoner i bofellesskap for mennesker med alvorlige rus- og/eller psykiske problemer, med fokus på hva som kan erfares som hjelpsomt i en slik relasjon. Metoder: Ved hjelp av individuelle intervju ble sju beboere intervjuet om en relasjon til en ansatt de selv opplevde at var til hjel…