Navigating Mental Health Services as an (Im)Perfect Service User
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Journal Article
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Wiley
Abstract
Purpose: This paper reflects on my experiences as a Māori woman navigating addiction, family violence, and recovery in New Zealand. The paper also explores how psychiatric and mental health nurses can better support women who use drugs (WWUD) by embracing complexity and rejecting idealized recovery models. Background: WWUD who are also parenting and experiencing family violence face systemic stigma and exclusion from mental health and social services. Their experiences are shaped by intersecting barriers, including social judgment, fears around child protection, and a lack of appropriate services. Methods: Using Frank's (1995) narrative typologies—chaos, restitution, and quest—I reflect on my lived experiences and draw insights from my doctoral research with mothers in a residential drug treatment and parenting program.Description
Keywords
addiction, domestic violence, women's mental health, 4203 Health Services and Systems, 4205 Nursing, 42 Health Sciences, Behavioral and Social Science, Mental Health, Brain Disorders, 7.1 Individual care needs, 8.1 Organisation and delivery of services, Mental health, 3 Good Health and Well Being, 11 Medical and Health Sciences, 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, Nursing, 4205 Nursing
Source
Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, ISSN: 1351-0126 (Print); 1365-2850 (Online), Wiley, 32(5), 1084-1090. doi: 10.1111/jpm.70001
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© 2025 The Author(s). Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.