The role of personligt ombud in supporting the recovery process for people with psychiatric disabilities

Sammanfattning: The overall aim was to explore the experiences and knowledge of Personligt Ombud (PO) (a Swedish version of Case Management) and how they relate to the client's recovery as well as their own role of supporting clients in the recovery process. The thesis consists of four original papers (I-IV), and both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. Paper I showed that there were differences in knowledge and attitude toward recovery between three personnel groups: psychiatric outpatient services (POPS), the supported housing team (SHT) and the PO service, where the POs showed greater knowledge about recovery than both POPS and SHT. The results also indicated that university education and training in recovery was positive related to knowledge and attitudes towards recovery. Findings from papers II - IV showed that the clients' choices permeated all of the work that the POs and clients did together. The strategies used by the POs put the client in an active changing process, where he/she became involved in every aspect of the process. The work of the PO included discussions and collaboration with clients. The relationship with the client was the foundation of the work, and it was important to build a working alliance, which also involved a personal dimension. The findings also showed that POs experienced their role as unbounded, where they didn't have to consider any organizational frames, and POs solely represent the client. However, the free role was also connected with responsibilities concerning their work, and POs had to be able to work independently. The role as POs also enables to get a holistic view to both the client as well as to the welfare system. However, the freestanding role demanded legitimacy, and the POs had to work for this. It was important for the PO service to develop good platforms for cooperation with other actors in the society. In conclusion, it is interesting and leads to the question of whether POs and personnel in POPS can relate to two different kinds of recovery: personal vs. clinical. It may be important to consider the need for university education and training in recovery developing recovery-oriented practices. Findings showed that the PO service has developed a method in accordance to the NBHW guidelines, which in many cases, may benefit the clients' recovery process; however, there were aspects the PO service needed to develop. They seemed to use a problem-oriented approach, and they need to change this and look at the clients' strengths, both individual and environmental, and use them in order to support the client to reach goals in life. In Strengths Model Case Management, the Strengths assessment exists, that may be useful. The POs' service also needs to strengthen their organization and possibly develop support among colleagues.