Services on Demand
Article
Indicators
Related links
- Cited by Google
- Similars in Google
Share
Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology
On-line version ISSN 1445-7377
Print version ISSN 2079-7222
Abstract
SOMMER, Mona and SAEVI, Tone. Beyond support: exploring support as existential phenomenon in the context of young people and mental health. Indo-Pac. j. phenomenol. (Online) [online]. 2017, vol.17, n.2, pp.1-11. ISSN 1445-7377. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20797222.2017.1370899.
Support in different modes, expressions and actions is at the core of the public welfare culture. In this paper, support is examined as an everyday interpersonal phenomenon with a variety of expressions in language and ways of relating, and its essential meaning is explored. The fulcrum for reflection is the lived experience shared by a young woman with mental health problems of her respective encounters with two professionals in mental health facilities. A phenomenological analysis of the contrasting accounts suggests that, when the professional relationship includes openness and risk, a certain degree of freedom of action is possible for both parties involved in the inevitably asymmetrical relationship. Support as "given" eludes controllable and measurable objectives, but imposes itself on the lived experiences of both the giver and the receiver as subject to readiness for acceptance. By not making assumptions about what support is, we open ourselves to the possibility of reciprocally experiencing moments revealing the essential meaning of support as lived.