당사자연구에 참여한 정신장애인의 회복경험

A Qualitative Study on the Recovery Experiences of the People with Mentally Disabilities Participated in the“Research and Mutual Help”

본 연구의 목적은 당사자 연구에 참여한 정신장애인의 회복경험을 탐구하는 것이다. 이를 위해 당사자 연구의 모태인 일본 베델의 집과의 지속적인 교류를 통해 그 모델을 적용하고 있는 국내 정신재활시설을 이용하며 당사자연구에 참여한 정신장애인과 일본 베델의 집에서 당사자 연구에 참여한 정신장애인을 연구참여자로 모집하여 회복경험에 대한 개별심층면접을 실시하였다. 또한 수집된 자료는 현상학적 연구방법을 사용하여 분석하였다. 분석 결과 당사자연구에 참여한 정신장애인의 회복경험은 ‘나를 드러내고 인정받음’,‘내 병을 수용함’, ‘동료관계를 통해 분리에서 연결로 나아감’, ‘과거를 통합하고 미래를 바라봄’, ‘주체적 참여를 통해 나의 힘을 되찾음’으로 나타났다. 이러한 연구결과를 바탕으로 정신장애인의 회복을 촉진하는 당사자 연구의 활성화를 위한 환경 조성과 실천적 접근에 대해 제언하였다.

The aim of this qualitative study is to explore and understand the participation process and recovery experiences of the people with mentally disabilities who had participated in “Research and Mutual Help” program. Through continuous exchange with the House of Bethel in Japan, the “Research and Mutual Help” model which had been developed by the House of Bethel was adapted and applied to several Korean rehabilitation centers. Study subjects were recruited from these Korean and Japanese centers among whom had participated in this program. Individual in-depth interviews were carried out focusing on the personal experience of recovery. The collected data were analyzed using thematic analysis method. As the result, the recovery experiences of people with mentally disabilities during “Research and Mutual Help” program were categorized into 5 sub-topics, which were ‘speaking and being accepted my symptoms’, ‘Accepting me as i am’, ‘Moving from separation to connection through peer-to-peer alliances’, ‘Integrating the past and moving forward into the future’, ‘Regaining my strength through active participation’. With this results, we suggest practical recommendations for the promotion of “Research and Mutual Help” model which is an effective model for facilitating the recovery of the mentally disabled people.