Ethical realism before social constructionism

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Doubt, Hope, Pain and New Discoveries: Parents`Experiences of the High-Conflict Program "No Kids in the Middle"

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Klassesamtaler som eksistensielt drama - der psykisk helse oppstår mellom oss

Author's version of an article in the journal: Nordic Studies in Education. Also available from the publisher at: http://www.idunn.no/ts/np/2012/02/klassesamtaler_som_eksistensielt_drama_-_der_psykisk_helse_?highlight=Ulland#highlightThis article presents a qualitative study of a mental health promotion initiative at the interface between culture, health and education. In this initiative the aim is to facilitate conversations about various life issues in mainstream classes in high school. The study shows that the conversations set off thoughts and feelings with the students which are considered to be positive and meaningful and that the initiative contributes to an increased experience of openness and cohesion in the class. Through the use of Bakhtin's dialogue philosophy, Løgstrup's ethics of proximity and Lakoff's and Johnson's metaphor theory, we note how the talks establish a space for an existential drama. The students open up, they put themselves at play, they exist: ethically, cognitively and emotionally. On this basis it is reasonable to say that mental health arises between the students

Things matter: about materiality and recovery from mental health difficulties

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The Lost Social Context of Recovery Psychiatrization of a Social Process

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The magic in the (extra)ordinary: Intensive validation to recalibrate the life-worlds of adolescents exposed to abuse

This qualitative case study aimed to explore environmental circumstances and inter-actional processes that appeared to be relevant for the dynamics of resilience in ado-lescents exposed to child abuse. Fieldwork at a learning and coping centre forchildren and their families was combined with semi-structured interviews with ado-lescent participants aged 12 to 18 years. A critical realist approach was used tounpack what has been called the‘ordinary magic’of resilience. We found thatinten-sively validating qualitiesof both theenvironmentandrelationshipsseemed to be driv-ing components for resilience. Borrowing ideas from the sociometer theory, wepropose that particularly the consistent intensiveness may offer arecalibrationof theadolescents' immediate life-worlds, in terms of how they perceive the people theymeet and the environments they step into. In keeping with the transactional-ecological model of resilience, we suggest that such a recalibration leads to alteredsocial agency that becomes visible through their immediate social participation.publishedVersio

A qualitative fallacy: Life trapped in interpretations and stories

This paper points out some problematic aspects of qualitative research based on interviews and uses examples from mental health. The narrative approach is explored while inquiring if the reality of life here is forced into the formula of a chronological story. The hermeneutic approach, in general, is also examined, and we ask if the reality of life in this scenario becomes caught up in a web of interpretations. Inspired by ideas from Bakhtin and phenomenology, we argue for interview-based research that stays with unresolvedness and constantly question the web of interpretations and narratives that determine our experiences. This also chimes with certain dialogical practices in mental health in which tolerance of uncertainty is the guiding principle. Concludingly, we suggest that interview-based research could be a practice of ‘un-resolving’ in which researchers, together with the participants, look for cracks, contradictions, and complexities to prevent the qualitative fallacies of well-organized meanings and well-composed stories.publishedVersio

Studies regarding supported housing and the built environment for people with mental health problems : A mixed-methods literature review

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“I will never forget him”. A qualitative exploration of staff descriptions of helpful relationships in supportive housing

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‘It’s not just a lot of words’. A qualitative exploration of residents’ descriptions of helpful relationships in supportive housing

Author's accepted manuscript.This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in European Journal of Social Work on 24/10/2019, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13691457.2019.1682523.acceptedVersio