Going beyond: Users’ experiences of helping professionals

Abstract

Background: Establishing a working alliance has been found to be of great importance for the outcome of professional interventions for people diagnosed with severe mental illnesses. Aim: The aim of the present study was to analyse the concrete actions of helpful professionals in establishing a working alliance. Method: Interviews with 58 persons diagnosed with severe mental illness who were in a recovery process or had recovered were analysed using Grounded Theory. Results: The core category that emerged from the analysis was termed ‘going beyond’. It was constituted on three subcategories: challenging the rationality of the institutions, restoring the professional as a person and restoring the user as a person. Conclusion: Users’ experience-based knowledge about helpful professionals calls into question the traditional view of professional roles.

Keywords:

• client-centred therapy
• interpersonal relationships
• therapeutic relationship
• treatment guidelines