Abstract
It is difficult to understand what it feels like for people with mental ill-health to be cared-for and supported by family members; this experience is often little-explored. Narratives about caring have been increasingly written alongside first-person accounts of recovery, however, there is a dearth of literature written to gain the perspective of being cared-for because of mental distress. Thus, using autoethnography, I present three critical incidents occurring at different points in my recovery to enable exploration of experiences of being cared-for. Firstly, a critical incident at the point of acute unwellness is introduced, secondly an incident during a consultation with a health professional is highlighted, and finally a moment of transition when embarking on an independent life with my husband-to-be is described. I use autoethnography to connect “the autobiographical and personal to the cultural, social, and political”. I consider how the identity of a carer is continually negotiated in a relationship with the service user in both the “private” and the “public” worlds during recovery. I reflect on how professionals can support both service users and carers in a triangle of care, by providing information and support, alongside promoting the development of independence and agency for the service user whilst in the caring relationship. Finally, I introduce a service model which promotes a family network approach to empower the service user, and highlight training programs on recovery that enable carers. I conclude by suggesting the potential of both approaches to support carers to promote the recovery of the service user.
Highlights
It is difficult to understand what it feels like for people with mental ill-health to be cared-for and supported by family members; this experience is often little-explored
Reflective practice is of key importance to both health and social care practitioners [9]; it has a long tradition of being used in these professions as a method to develop both personal understanding of the lived experiences of service users and carers [10] and of innovation in practice [11]
I have presented three critical incidents during my recovery journey of my experiences of being cared for, and through wider analysis of these occurrences sought to connect “the autobiographical and personal to the cultural, social, and political” [13]. This reflection has led to consideration of the important role that professionals can play in supporting both the service user and the caregiver to renegotiate their relationships in their caring dyad, to foster independence but to build alliances with carers in a triangle of care [18]
Summary
It is difficult to understand what it feels like for people with mental ill-health to be cared-for and supported by family members; this experience is often little-explored. Using a process of reflection and the presentation of three critical incidents [6], I draw on autoethnography [7, 8] to explore my thoughts, feelings, and memories of being cared-for at different stages in my recovery journey. These reflective memories are contextualized in the wider social and cultural context [7, 8] and their relevance is highlighted
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