“Communitas in Crisis”: An Autoethnography of Psychosis Under Lockdown

Fixsen, Alison 2021. “Communitas in Crisis”: An Autoethnography of Psychosis Under Lockdown. Qualitative Health Research. 31 (12), pp. 2340-2350. https://doi.org/10.1177/10497323211025247

Title“Communitas in Crisis”: An Autoethnography of Psychosis Under Lockdown
TypeJournal article
AuthorsFixsen, Alison
Abstract

In this article, I use autoethnography to examine time spent on an acute psychiatric ward during the COVID-19 lockdown. I employ the device of “communitas in crisis” to emphasize the precarious nature of this experience and the extent to which, for myself at least, informal social interactions with fellow patients and “communitas” were significant features of my hospital experience and subsequent discharge. I suggest that a lack of emphasis on inpatient to inpatient relationships in the recovery literature is an omission and a reflection of psychiatry’s authority struggles with both service users and professionals, along with a general perception of psychosis as individual rather than as a socially constructed phenomenon. I also suggest that, especially in the wake of greater social distancing, mental health and social services should safeguard against psychological and social isolation by creating more spaces for struggling people to interact without fear or prejudice.

KeywordsUK
autoethnography
lockdown
peer relationships
psychiatric unit
psychosis
qualitative
JournalQualitative Health Research
Journal citation31 (12), pp. 2340-2350
ISSN1049-7323
Year2021
PublisherSage
Publisher's version
License
CC BY 4.0
File Access Level
Open (open metadata and files)
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1177/10497323211025247
PubMed ID34176353
Web address (URL)https://doi.org/10.1177/10497323211025247
Publication dates
Published26 Oct 2021
Supplemental file
License
CC BY 4.0
File Access Level
Open (open metadata and files)
Page range10497323211025247

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