- Library Home /
- Search Collections /
- Open Collections /
- Browse Collections /
- UBC Faculty Research and Publications /
- Social Suffering : Indigenous Peoples’ Experiences...
Open Collections
UBC Faculty Research and Publications
Social Suffering : Indigenous Peoples’ Experiences of Accessing Mental Health and Substance Use Services Smye, Victoria; Browne, Annette J.; Josewski, Viviane; Keith, Barbara; Mussell, William
Abstract
In this paper, we present findings from a qualitative study that explored Indigenous people’s experiences of mental health and addictions care in the context of an inner-city area in Western Canada. Using an ethnographic design, a total of 39 clients accessing 5 community-based mental health care agencies were interviewed, including 18 in-depth individual interviews and 4 focus groups. Health care providers also were interviewed (n = 24). Data analysis identified four intersecting themes: normalization of social suffering; re-creation of trauma; the challenge of reconciling constrained lives with harm reduction; and mitigating suffering through relational practice. The results highlight the complexities of experiences of accessing systems of care for Indigenous people marginalized by poverty and other forms of social inequity, and the potential harms that arise from inattention to the intersecting social context(s) of peoples’ lives. Service delivery that aims to address the mental health concerns of Indigenous people must be designed with awareness of, and responsiveness to, the impact of structural violence and social suffering on peoples’ lived realities. A relational policy and policy lens is key to alleviate patterns of social suffering and counter the harms that are unwittingly created when social suffering is normalized.
Item Metadata
| Title |
Social Suffering : Indigenous Peoples’ Experiences of Accessing Mental Health and Substance Use Services
|
| Creator | |
| Publisher |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
|
| Date Issued |
2023-02-13
|
| Description |
In this paper, we present findings from a qualitative study that explored Indigenous people’s experiences of mental health and addictions care in the context of an inner-city area in Western Canada. Using an ethnographic design, a total of 39 clients accessing 5 community-based mental health care agencies were interviewed, including 18 in-depth individual interviews and 4 focus groups. Health care providers also were interviewed (n = 24). Data analysis identified four intersecting themes: normalization of social suffering; re-creation of trauma; the challenge of reconciling constrained lives with harm reduction; and mitigating suffering through relational practice. The results highlight the complexities of experiences of accessing systems of care for Indigenous people marginalized by poverty and other forms of social inequity, and the potential harms that arise from inattention to the intersecting social context(s) of peoples’ lives. Service delivery that aims to address the mental health concerns of Indigenous people must be designed with awareness of, and responsiveness to, the impact of structural violence and social suffering on peoples’ lived realities. A relational policy and policy lens is key to alleviate patterns of social suffering and counter the harms that are unwittingly created when social suffering is normalized.
|
| Subject | |
| Geographic Location | |
| Genre | |
| Type | |
| Language |
eng
|
| Date Available |
2025-06-27
|
| Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
|
| Rights |
CC BY 4.0
|
| DOI |
10.14288/1.0449225
|
| URI | |
| Affiliation | |
| Citation |
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 20 (4): 3288 (2023)
|
| Publisher DOI |
10.3390/ijerph20043288
|
| Peer Review Status |
Reviewed
|
| Scholarly Level |
Faculty; Researcher
|
| Rights URI | |
| Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
|
Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
CC BY 4.0