Economies with 'the truth': professionals' narratives about lying and deception in mental health practice

In psychiatric and psychotherapeutic literature, the idea of clients lying is not one that is commonly voiced, and many therapeutic positions seem to discourage discussion of the issue. In practice, however, professionals do meet with people who they feel are not being 'truthful', and this study sought to examine the narratives that a group of colleagues provided about the resulting conflicts and dilemmas. Through the use of unstructured interviews, I invited mental health practitioners to discuss their experiences of situations where they felt clients were lying to them. From an analysis of these research conversations I propose that, in a psychiatric context, lying and secrecy often occur as response to an experience of powerlessness by service-users. I also suggest that the issue of clients lying requires more open discussion amongst practitioners, in order to explore differences in power and perspective between professionals and clients.