Every Intervention Emerges from an Encounter: Translation and Contextualization as Treatments for Recurrent...

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Psychiatric treatment is commonly seen as not treating the whole person, but as using technical fixes for symptoms. Both in treatment and when reading their medical files, lay people often feel personally disrespected. WHAT THE PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: We suggest that some practitioners are aware of their patients as humans: They respect the service user's understandings and relationships, including the one between patient and practitioner. Two mechanisms for bonding and building mutual respect (translation and contextualization) are described. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR MENTAL HEALTH NURSING?: Every intervention emerges from an encounter, and therefore, talk cannot merely be instrumental but must also be an exchange. Translation means that the service user understands the provider, and vice versa. Contextualization means that patients and practitioners interact not only in those roles, but as people with a broader history and network of relationships. Neither technical nor personal understandings are privileged, but used flexibly and as needed.