ABSTRACT
Aim: To reflect on the process of Josephine re-finding a sense of personal investment in becoming a psychiatrist and a sense of having something to offer.
Method: A duo-ethnographic approach was used to investigate wider social and political meanings in the story through collaborative and mutually disruptive exploration of both authors’ responses to the evolving text. This analysis was then used to crystallise and enrich the evocative nature of the text.
Results: The chapter begins with further undermining experiences but moves on to describe how Josephine finds support for her therapeutic potential as she engages her academic skills and learns from two particular psychiatrists.
Conclusions: Even in a prescriptive institution like psychiatry there are people outside the mainstream who are able to provide support to each other to add richness to what traditional psychiatry offers. Thinking outside of normal practices and the value of experience-based expertise in peer workers is also highlighted. Seeds of change remain present.
