Formula Stories of the “Substance-Using Client”

Selseng, Lillian Bruland

doi:10.1177/0091450917698963

Cited by 16 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 78 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The position of "always being an addict" appeared to be associated mainly with deviant self-concepts, and with any practices outside the boundaries that define mainstream society, in addition to mobilizing feelings of shame, humiliation, and self-blaming. These findings strengthen the conclusions from research challenging culture-embedded discourses and formula stories portraying "addiction" and the "addicted" self in a way that upholds stigma and restricts the scope for action and future possibilities (Fomiatti et al, 2017;Pienaar et al, 2015;Radcliffe & Stevens, 2008;Selseng, 2017;Selseng & Ulvik, 2018). Although the present participants narrated the sensation of feeling normal and being productive and responsible citizens during their recovery process, their perception of being diseased and morally degenerate continued to influence their self-conception and self-understanding, as well as fuelling self-surveillance, which placed extra burdens and strains upon the everyday challenges that they faced.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Narratives of Change: Identity and Recognition Dynamics in the Process of Moving Away From a Life Dominated by Drug Use

Robertson

Sagvaag

Selseng

et al. 2021

Contemporary Drug Problems

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The concepts of identity and recovery capital are recognized as being an embedded part of moving away from a life dominated by drug use. However, the link between these two concepts and the effect of broader social structures, and the normative assumptions underpinning the condition of recovery, is less explored. This article focuses on the social practices of everyday life in the foreground of identity formation, meaning that “who I am” is an inseparable part of “what I do.” A narrative approach was employed to analyze qualitative follow-up data extracted from 48 in-depth interviews with 17 males and females with drug-using experience that were conducted posttreatment on three separate occasions over a period of 2.5 years. Theories of identity formation were employed to analyze the interdependent dynamic between social structure, persona and social resources, and way of life and identity. The analyses identified four narratives related to how people present themselves through the process of changing practices. Following the work of Honneth, we argue that the positive identity formation revealed in these narratives is best understood as a struggle for recognition via the principle of achievement. However, the participants’ self-narratives reflected cultural stories—specified as formula stories—of “normality,” “addiction,” and the “addict,” which work into the concepts of self and confine options of storying experiences during the recovery process. This study demonstrate that the process of recovery is culturally embedded and constitutes a process of adaption to conventional social positions and roles. We suggest challenging dominant discourses related to “addiction as a disease” and “normality” in order to prevent stigma related to drug use and recovery. In so doing, it may contribute to broaden conditions for identity (trans)formation for people in recovery.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Narratives of Change: Identity and Recognition Dynamics in the Process of Moving Away From a Life Dominated by Drug Use

Robertson

Sagvaag

Selseng

et al. 2021

Contemporary Drug Problems

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Organizational narratives of identity inform and shape service provision by providing images of the organization’s ‘typical’ client, which justify the organization of services and the interventions needed to help this particular client with his or hers particular problem ( Loseke, 2007 ). Understandings of clients and needs are shaped by social, cultural and institutional contexts ( Selseng, 2018 ). Therefore, different organizations catering to the same type of clients, for instance people who are blind ( Scott, 1985 ) or have substance abuse problems ( Selseng, 2018 ) ‘offer very different services in very different ways’ ( Loseke, 2007 , p.671) depending on the organizations’ specific image of their typical clients.…”

Section: Organizational Narrativesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Understandings of clients and needs are shaped by social, cultural and institutional contexts ( Selseng, 2018 ). Therefore, different organizations catering to the same type of clients, for instance people who are blind ( Scott, 1985 ) or have substance abuse problems ( Selseng, 2018 ) ‘offer very different services in very different ways’ ( Loseke, 2007 , p.671) depending on the organizations’ specific image of their typical clients. By making the typical client visible and thus defining who are eligible for what, organizational narratives not only shape the services, though; like the institutional identities defined in social policies they also ‘shape the social world and its inhabitants’ life chances’ ( Loseke, 2007 , p.667).…”

Section: Organizational Narrativesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organizational narratives in rehabilitation-focused dementia care – Negotiating identities, interventions and personhood

2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Rehabilitation is increasingly being introduced in dementia care but studies highlight extensive heterogeneity in practices, conceptual confusion and divergent perceptions of its relevance across care organizations and national contexts. As this have implications for development of dementia care as well as for people with dementia’s access to care it is important to study the organizational narratives and practices in rehabilitation-oriented dementia care organizations. Methods The study build on qualitative interviews (individual and group interviews) with health professionals (N = 26) engaged with dementia care and rehabilitation in two Danish municipalities. The interviews were conducted in 2018–2019. The empirical data was analyzed using abductive analysis and theory-based narrative analysis, using Loseke’s conceptualizations of and approach to analyzing formula stories. Findings Four dominant organizational narratives were constructed from the data. Each narrative produced a specific organizational narrative of client identity: the active participant in individualized rehabilitation, the inactive individual benefitting from enhanced social environments, the disengaging self and the vulnerable self. Conclusion Introducing rehabilitation in dementia care may amplify the organizational polyphonic and provide a plurality of organizational identities each expressing different perceptions of personhood and agency for people with dementia. The organizational narratives were negotiated within a specific structural context where national regulation and dominant discourses on economic challenges and ageing gave precedence to some narratives more than others. In Danish elder care, the first narrative is the most influential but risks excluding people with dementia. Instead, rehabilitation in dementia care is positioned within a social and relational perspective, which may silence important discussion of agency and resistance.

show abstract

“…Public opinion about people affected by homelessness is strongly influenced by the idea that a person's circumstances are determined by their will, character and choices (Schwan, 2016;Scullion, Somerville, Brown & Morris, 2015;Teixeira 2017). Topics of social inequality are often individualised and naturalised by professionals (Juberg & Skjefstad, 2019), and professional narratives are fatalistic and construct substance use as a personal problem, obstructing the process of creating 'new identities' not linked to substance use (Alexander, 2008;Järvinen, 2002;Selseng, 2017;Teixeira 2017). Research on 'homeless identities' has also been argued to construct homelessness as an identity problem, depersonalising people and making what they lack their defining characteristic (Parsell, 2010), as well as opening for dehumanising policy and 'care' (Herring, Yarbrough & Alatorre, 2019).…”

Section: Previous Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘The Long and Winding Road’ — Collective action among people experiencing homelessness

Aaslund¹,

Seim²

2020

IJAR

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

What possibilities exist for collective action among marginalised people? Through participatory action research (PAR), we study possibilities for collective action among people affected by homelessness and substance use. We describe the process of collective action in a single case, the X-street project, and scrutinise how collective identity can contribute to understandings of collective action. Findings of collective identity in boundary work, consciousness-raising and negotiations suggest that identity work and collective action are closely linked in processes of empowerment and created in mutually reinforcing processes. The case shows that the group succeeded in building a collective action project by simultaneously challenging its members’ public identity and providing them with home and work. More research is needed about the processes of collective action, and the relationship between material change and identity work.

show abstract

Formula Stories of the “Substance-Using Client”

Cited by 16 publications

References 78 publications

Narratives of Change: Identity and Recognition Dynamics in the Process of Moving Away From a Life Dominated by Drug Use

Narratives of Change: Identity and Recognition Dynamics in the Process of Moving Away From a Life Dominated by Drug Use

Organizational narratives in rehabilitation-focused dementia care – Negotiating identities, interventions and personhood

‘The Long and Winding Road’ — Collective action among people experiencing homelessness

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About