Community care and mental disorder: An analysis of discursive resources

The number of people with mental disorders living in the community has rece ntly increased with further increases likely. This study provides a post-at titudinal examination of the discursive resources on which ordinary New Zea landers draw when talking about 'community care'. Four common resources wer e identified: dual community, rights, disorder and patronization. Each of t hese resources is examined by using a range of analytic concepts which illu strate the rhetorical achievements and social practices found in the data. We argue that the dual community resource works to position the disordered as being outside the community which is contrary to the broad aim of commun ity care. The analysis of talk of rights was cast as an ideological dilemma for participants who endorsed both universality and conditionality of righ ts for the disordered. The disorder resource was notable for its flexible r hetorical deployment, while patronization contributed to the positioning of the disordered as subordinate. The implications of these resources are dis cussed in terms of existing notions of stigma and possibilities for change centred around affiliative resources.