Att våga ta steget ur psykisk ohälsa - En kvalitativ studie om processen att söka psykiatrisk vård

Sammanfattning: Mental illness is a growing social problem that has to be understood in order to counteract it. People with mental illness often need some kind of treatment to deal with their problems and finding this treatment is an important part of the rehabilitation process. This process is not always easy and sometime it leads to the person not getting help at all. In this analysis we discuss different ways to get in touch with mental health care, the feelings involved and the individual needs of the care seekers. On this basis we examine the need of alternative ways to simplify the help seeking process. For this analysis we conducted a qualitative study where we interviewed six individuals in the ages 20-40 years old that at some point have been in contact with mental health care. Questions were asked regarding their help-seeking process and their view on a desirable help-seeking process. In our analysis we used a social constructionism perspective together with Goffman’s theories about stigma and roleplay to interpret our material. The results indicate an overall displeasure regarding the help-seeking process, mostly because people’s needs were not met. There is a concern about our current care-system, largely due to a stigmatization of mental illness. The practical aspect of the help-seeking process can be problematic since mental illness creates limitations. There is a general wish that the mental care process would be quicker and offer more continuity. The care-system need to be more easily available to the people who need it, and one possible solution could be the Internet.