Am. Goodwin, Leaving the asylum: A psychodynamic observation study of a move from a long stay psychiatric ward to the community, INT J SOC P, 46(1), 2000, pp. 21-33
Regular observations were made of a group of residents and staff on a long
stay psychiatric ward and in the early months following their move to the c
ommunity. During the period before the move, staff and residents colluded t
o prevent residents' active involvement in the preparations. Immediately fo
llowing the move, staff seemed unsure of their roles and value, and residen
ts expressed continued uncertainty about their identity as psychiatric pati
ents versus members of the community. The results were interpreted in terms
of the threat that transition from hospital to community represents to the
defensive social structures developed by each group to cope with the anxie
ties inherent in their position. For the residents, this threat is to their
already ambiguous identities as neither "mad" nor "normal". For the staff,
it means greater intimacy with the residents and raises expectations of im
provement that may not be fulfilled.