Elaine Stasiulis Crawford

PubMed2002

The dialectic of friendship for people with psychiatric disabilities.

In the psychiatric literature, the meaning and importance of friendship has remained largely unexplored, subsumed under the rubric of social support or viewed as a component of community integration. Twenty-one qualitative interviews were conducted with individuals suffering from psychiatric disabilities focusing on the meaning of friendship as they described it. Analysis revealed the contrasts, contradiction and paradox of friendship for this group of people. The ongoing struggles of people with psychiatric disabilities regarding the need to connect with others and have friends, and conversely, the need to be alone and to withdraw from others, was highlighted.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

The Knowledge Resource Base: beginning the dialogue.

The Knowledge Resource Base (KRB) is a conceptual approach to the various types of knowledge used to understand and make sense of mental illness. It is an attempt to go beyond the everyday notion that real knowledge is in the hands of clinical experts and that consumers/survivors, families, and the public have little to contribute. There are four components to the KRB, each of which represents a different perspective or type of knowledge about mental illness; medical/clinical, social scientific, experiential, and customary/traditional. The purpose of this paper is to explore the medical/clinical and experiential components of the KRB by initiating a dialogue between consumers/survivors, families, and mental health professionals regarding these components. The strengths and weaknesses of each component are identified through individual interviews and a focus group.

Attitude to Health↗