Ethnographic Study of Psychosocial Suffering in Urban Social Care
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Traumatization: An Ethnographic Study of Psychosocial Suffering in Urban Social Care
IRAS ID
308178
Contact name
Shoshana Lauter
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
London School of Economics and Political Science
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 9 months, 1 days
Research summary
The purpose of this research is to study the ways trauma as a concept is engaged with by marginalized users of mental health-related social care services in London, in order to understand the relationship between urban social suffering and mental health problems. The study involves some theoretical analysis and conceptual development but will primarily consist of ethnographic (i.e. observational and interview) research conducted at three field sites in North London: a women’s crisis house (part of Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust), a homelessness charity hostel, and a psychosis therapy and support group. The observational component will take place over eighteen months and will focus on the ways people in these settings discuss the idea of trauma. These observations will be supplemented by interviews with the service users to further explore their understanding of trauma’s role in relation to their own experiences. The analysis will focus on how users of these services develop their own narratives and self-perceptions through trauma-informed diagnoses and discourses, and how this affects their relationships with the broader care system. A critical theory of trauma’s role in the care of indigent populations will be developed.
REC name
Social Care REC
REC reference
21/IEC08/0041
Date of REC Opinion
14 Dec 2021
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion