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...
| Autores: | , , , , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2023 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universidad de Barcelona |
| Repositorio: | Dipòsit Digital de la UB |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/207206 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/2445/207206 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Malalts mentals Mares i fills Antropologia mèdica Violència contra les dones Investigació qualitativa Catalunya Cuidadores Mentally ill Mother and child Medical anthropology Violence against women Qualitative research Catalonia Women caregivers |
| Sumario: | 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. |
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