‘Being Diplomatic with the Truth’: The Discursive Management of Risk in Accounts of People Leaving Forensic Psychiatric Settings

Abstract

Mental ill-health can be a very distressing experience for those with the condition, their families, and the wider community. Unpredictable and strange behaviours can lead to strains in the social fabric that make up the support network surrounding the individual. Many of these behaviours will have caused embarrassment to the individual and their families. Perhaps most significantly the response of the wider community to such behaviours (and confirmation of contact with mental health services) is often to reject the person or refrain from further contact. It is perhaps understandable then that many people with mental health problems are cautious about revealing information about their condition. In circumstances where the individual has engaged in serious criminal offences, which have the effect of confirming public misconceptions about mental illness, it is likely that the maintenance of privacy and decisions about disclosure are constant challenges. The social identity implications of stigma, discrimination and exclusion make the maintenance of privacy an area of particular sensitivity. In this chapter I will explore how privacy and disclosure were handled in the talk of people returning to community living following detention in forensic mental health facilities. Discursive practice among patients and workers is examined to show how risk is constructed and dealt with in accounts.