Unraveling reactionary care: The experience of mother-caregivers of adults with severe mental disorders in Catalonia

In most Mediterranean countries, people diagnosed with severe mental disorders (SMDs) are typically cared for by the mother, causing a significant burden on people in this family role. Based on a broader mental health participatory action and qualitative research carried out in Catalonia (Spain) of...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Alegre Agís, Elisa, García-Santesmases Fernández, Andrea, Pié Balaguer, Asunción, Martinez-Hernaez, Angel, Bekele, Deborah, Morales Sáez, Nicolás, Serrano-Miguel, Mercedes
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Recursos:Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC)
Repositorio:O2, repositorio institucional de la UOC
OAI Identifier:oai:openaccess.uoc.edu:10609/146980
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/10609/146980
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11013-022-09788-z
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:severe mental disorders
institutional violence
gender-based violence
caregivers
medical anthropology
trastornos mentales graves
violencia institucional
violencia de género
cuidadores
antropología médica
trastorns mentals greus
violencia de gènere
cuidadors
antropologia médica
mental illness
malalties mentals
enfermedades mentales
Descrição
Resumo:In most Mediterranean countries, people diagnosed with severe mental disorders (SMDs) are typically cared for by the mother, causing a significant burden on people in this family role. Based on a broader mental health participatory action and qualitative research carried out in Catalonia (Spain) of 12 in-depth interviews and 3 focus groups, this article analyses the mother-caregivers’ experience in the domestic space. The results show that patients and caregivers are engaged in a relationship of “nested dependencies”, which create social isolation. This produces the conditions of “reactionary care”, practices that limit the autonomy of those affected and that reproduce forms of disciplinary psychiatric institutions. We conclude that both institutional violence derived from economic rationality and that which stems from the gender mandate feed off each other into the domestic sphere. This research argues for placing care at the center of clinical practice and shows the need to consider the structural forces shaping it.