Fegan Colette, Cook Sarah
Department Allied Health Professions, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK.
Work. 2012;43(1):13-21. doi: 10.3233/WOR-2012-1443.
The aim of the study was to investigate how people with serious mental illness perceived the experience of volunteering for the health care organisation in which they had received a service. The study took a qualitative approach and in phase one, eleven service user volunteers were purposefully sampled and interviewed. In depth interviews were analysed using grounded theory. This paper describes the findings from phase one, and highlights the following themes to represent the volunteering experience: 1) rehearsing for a new direction; 2) treading carefully at first; 3) discovering my new self; and, 4) using my experience and extending relationships. These themes further support a tentative theoretical framework that considers supported volunteering to enhance recovery because it fosters positive risk taking and gives individuals a valued identity that integrates their mental health experience. In phase two, this framework will be tested with service users in more diverse volunteer positions. The findings of my study suggest that mental health services are in a unique position to build partnerships with service users to support their recovery and journeys toward employment by providing opportunities for volunteering.
该研究的目的是调查患有严重精神疾病的人如何看待在他们接受过服务的医疗保健机构中做志愿者的经历。该研究采用定性研究方法，在第一阶段，有目的地抽取了11名服务使用者志愿者并进行了访谈。运用扎根理论对深度访谈进行了分析。本文描述了第一阶段的研究结果，并突出了以下主题来呈现志愿者经历：1）为新方向排练；2）起初谨慎行事；3）发现全新的自我；4）利用我的经验并拓展人际关系。这些主题进一步支持了一个初步的理论框架，该框架认为有支持的志愿服务有助于康复，因为它鼓励积极冒险，并赋予个体一个将其心理健康经历整合在内的有价值的身份认同。在第二阶段，这个框架将在更多样化志愿者岗位的服务使用者中进行测试。我的研究结果表明，心理健康服务机构处于一个独特的位置，可以通过提供志愿服务机会与服务使用者建立伙伴关系，以支持他们的康复以及就业之路。
