Röster i rätten

Abstract

In the ongoing project: Therapist and adverse party — court hearings about coercive intervention, we analyze the communication process in court hearings concerning cases where citizens are subjected to coercive measures (compulsory care for psychiatric patients and drug abusers, social authorities' interventions to separate children from their parents). The primary purpose is to analyze the dilemma of balancing two seemingly incompatible roles for chief psychiatrists and social workers: to be "on the client's side" in clinical and social work settings, while acting as a formal adverse party to the client in the courtroom.