Negotiating uncertainty: an aspect of personal recovery in people living with mental illness - a workshop.

Abstract

Uncertainty in illness is a well known concept among many health conditions including chronic illnesses. Much has been investigated in research in how people adapt to different health conditions and how the concept of uncertainty in illness relates to those populations. However, in mental health, even though there is a strong interest in coping strategies, the aspect of negotiating uncertainty has not been fully investigated. In the context of a larger doctoral programme, where several researchers are focusing on aspects around negotiating uncertainty in people living with chronic health conditions, the author of this paper is focusing on people with mental illnesses and the relation of uncertainty within their personal recovery from a nursing perspective. The paper/presentation explores the available literature, interprets its findings and puts them in context with the current developments in mental health nursing, e.g. personal recovery and social inclusion. However, this is only the first step of a study conducted by the author that is still at the very beginning of its development. Therefore, the presentation is meant to be set up as a workshop in the form of a dialogue between participants of the conference and the researcher. What are important aspects in dealing with uncertainty and adapting to life with mental illness? How do we get to know about them? How could those aspects be used to support people in their personal recovery? The discussion in the workshop will hopefully help to guide the future development of the proposed research project.