Community mental health work: Negotiating support of users' recovery

Mental health services have changed over the past decades through an increased emphasis on deinstitutionalization and normalization, and with recovery processes situated in everyday life as a new locus of support. These changes have led to a need for new knowledge and methods concerning the provision of community mental health services. The aim of the present study was to explore how community mental health workers provide support to users, by investigating professionals' own narratives of how they work. Seven community mental health workers participated in narrative interviews, which were subject to a qualitative, interpretive analysis. A primary finding was that community mental health workers provide flexible and individually-adjusted support through engaging in negotiations with users, management, and others. Our findings show both opportunities and challenges of negotiating support, raising the following question for discussion: How and when are negotiations a valuable way for professionals and users to collaborate?