Psychotic creativity. A Foucauldian discourse analysis of alternative conversations about mental illness and mental health

Haslam, J

Abstract

My study has investigated how the practice of channelling symptoms of psychosis through the medium of creative art forms has empowered three young adults to create alternative discourses to trouble and unsettle the dynamic of power between service provider and service user through the interweaving of hybrid discourses. Three young adults with a diagnosis of psychosis have shown how they use creative art forms to construct personal journeys of transformative co-production. How the data emanating from the research process has the potential to effect positive change in mental health discursive practice is discussed and proposals for potential transformations in mental health services are mooted.

I have used the early work of Foucault on madness and creativity to trouble the concept of transformative co-production, focusing, as befits a discourse analysis study, on the use and effect of words in different environments. The process of interweaving, central to my study, uses Foucauldian discourse as an adaptable discursive analytic, locating individual action in the physical, social and organisational environments in which the action takes place. The data has revealed that, while the experience and treatment of psychosis can be oppressive and distressing, using the psychotic experience to create works of art in comedy and poetry through alternative conversations about mental health and mental illness can be a positive transformational experience both for the participants in my study and for wider society.

Citation

Haslam, J. (in press). Psychotic creativity. A Foucauldian discourse analysis of alternative conversations about mental illness and mental health. (Thesis). University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Acceptance Date: Oct 20, 2022
• Deposit Date: Dec 12, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 12, 2022
• Award Date: Aug 8, 2022