Mental health policy and mental health service user perspectives on involvement: a discourse analysis

This paper is a report of an exploration of the concept of service user involvement in mental health nursing using a discourse analysis approach.

Service user involvement has come to be expected in mental health nursing policy and practice. This concept, however, is often applied somewhat ambiguously and some writers call for a clearer understanding of what service users actually want.

A Foucauldian discourse analysis was conducted in 2005, examining literature and health policies published by the United Kingdom government and service users. The discursive perspectives of both were explored and conceptual themes were generated from the data.

Concepts occurring within government discourse include language relating to service users, the notion of service user involvement and power. Concepts from the service user discourse include power, change and control, theory, policy and practice, and experiential expertise. Differences in perspectives were found within these themes which distinguished government from service user discourses. Greater flexibility in ideas and perspectives was demonstrated by service users, with a seemingly greater range of theoretical underpinnings.

Greater awareness is needed of the significance of language, of how subtle inferences may be drawn from the rhetorical language of policies, of how these might affect the involvement of service users, and of the implications for the role of mental health nurses. Nurses need to be aware of these tensions and conflicts in managing their practice and in creating a mental health nursing philosophy of 'involvement'. If true 'involvement' is to ensue, nurses may also need to consider the transfer of power to service users.