Exploring the present and projecting the future: people with severe mental illness speaking for themselves

Abstract

The participation of people with mental illness in research is key to their empowerment and provides them with a highly meaningful experience. The aim of this article was to explore the perspectives, views and experiences of people with severe mental illness (SMI) regarding their present life and projection of the future (desires, expectations related to the illness, their personal, working, relational life, etc.). We present the results of a qualitative study in which two personal interviews were conducted with seven people with SMI, incorporating visual elements produced by the participants themselves (photographs and drawings). The results obtained allow us to take a more in-depth look at these people’s reflections with regard to the present and future, while also opening a working path for professionals in the social education services.

Keywords:

• Mental health
• users’ experiences
• everyday life
• qualitative research
• visual methods

Acknowledgements

We are immensely grateful to the projects that assisted with the study and to the participants who shared their experiences with us.

Funding

This work was supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Spain) [project number EDU2011-22945].

Notes

1. The River of Life focuses on drawing rather than text and consists in drawing a river on which key moments from the past and present are highlighted (Knowledge Sharing Toolkit, 2001). In our study, the participant was offered a blank piece of A3 paper and different shaped and coloured marker pens.