The Negotiation of Identity among People with Mental Illness in Rural Communities

Integration and normalization are goals within the community-based care of people with mental illness. The implementation of this care policy has led to increased contact between people with mental illness and so-called normal people and society at large. But we know little about how this change affects the former patients’ identity and experience of stigma and stereotyping. This study is based on qualitative interviews with people with mental illness (N=15) living in rural communities in four different municipalities. The focus in the study is on the informants’ subjective experiences and the results show that they adapt in different ways, depending on how they negotiate their identity. Those who accept their role as “mental patients” seem to have easier access to services, they experience less stigmatization and fewer conflicts with their surroundings than those who oppose the patient role. Seem from our informants’ perspectives there seems to be a simple definition of integration: Being integrated is feeling accepted as yourself. Some implications for policy and mental health services are discussed.