“The Lady in the Coffin” – Delusions and Hearing Voices

• Published in: Qualitative Inquiry
• Main Authors: Klausen, Rita K., Haugsgjerd, Svein, Lorem, Geir Fagerjord
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publications 2013
• Subjects: Social Sciences (miscellaneous); Anthropology; Norway; Northern Norway
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1077800413482096; http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1077800413482096; http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1177/1077800413482096

This article is based on a study of user participation and insight among 30 patients in community health centres in northern Norway. The living conditions of the patients have changed because of mental illness. Through a case study, we analyze the meaning of contexts in a meeting with Sverre, an older man, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia many years ago. One of the core features of schizophrenia is the patient’s lack of insight. Case studies have a valuable place in illness narratives, giving voice to suffering in a way different than the biomedical voice. Sverre’s narrative performance represents a different insight, which challenges the perception of everyday life in the clinic and our work with this patient group. By using a performative narrative perspective, the concept of insight emerges as a relational term and something that is developed in the dialogue, rather than through the static characteristics of the patient.