Everyday life relationships: People with mental health problems and their social network

Abstract

This study analyzed everyday life of patients who had been discharged from a psychiatric hospital and were readmitted in a period of less than six months. It aimed to know this population's social network and analyze their possibilities of social inclusion. The everyday life concept of Agnes Heller was used as a theoretical basis and the Psychosocial Rehabilitation concept was used as an analytic category. It comprised 22 semistructured interviews with people with mental health problems readmitted in a psychiatric hospital and their relatives, seeking explore the everyday life of this population in the period between admissions. The interviews were submitted to discourse analysis, which revealed that the users find difficulties in social inclusion even when they are outpatients, it expresses the users social exclusion and inclusion dynamic in the family and the possibilities and social support found in the community. It recommends especial attention to patients' family care, fighting prejudice, and the work of mental health services to facilitate the user participation in community spaces.