Worlds of Psychotic People: Wanderers, 'Bricoleurs' and Strategists (Theory and Practice in Medical Anthropology)

Worlds of Psychotic People brings a fresh twenty-first century voice to the lives of those with serious psychological disorders, focusing on the manner in which psychiatric patients experience their subjective worlds. Based on ethnographic research gathered at the psychiatric hospital of Saint Anthony's in the Netherlands over a period of five years, it seeks to describe from the perspective of the mental patient some of the fears and hopes that mark an individual's encounter with the fixed reality-structures of a clinical mental ward. Worlds Of Psychotic People Brings A Fresh Twenty-first Century Voice To The Lives Of Those With Serious Psychological Disorders, Focusing On The Way In Which Psychiatric Patients Experience Their Subjective Worlds. Based On Ethnographic Research Gathered At The Psychiatric Hospital Of Saint Anthony's In The Netherlands Over A Period Of Five Years, It Seeks To Describe From The Perspective Of The Mental Patient Some Of The Fears And Hopes That Mark An Individual's Encounter With The Reality Of A Clinical Mental Ward.--jacket. 1. Introduction -- 2. The Quest For Reality And The Work With Culture: When Psychiatrists And Anthropologists Explore Psychosis -- 3. Shaping The Context Of The Speech Events: Models Of Therapists And Patients -- 4. Hope And Hopelessness, Healthy And Sick Parts -- 5. Hiding In Talk -- 6. Revealing In Talk -- 7. Living In Two Worlds -- 8. The Precarious World Of Psychotic People -- 9. Life And Death -- 10. Conclusion: Psychotic Discourse Revisited. Els Van Dongen. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [243]-255) And Index.