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Institutions(auto)etnografi genom psykiatrins skriftliga källor

Abstract

In this article, the life and death of the authors’ childhood friend Marcus is focused. He died while he was treated for auditory hallucinations in a psychiatry ward. The aim of the article is to analyse the narrative of the psychiatric institution about Marcus last weeks in life, that is articulated in medical reports. The empirical material consists mainly of written documents produced during Marcus’ last stay at the psychiatric institution and is analysed using auto-ethnography as an analytical tool. The narrative of the institution is contextualized through the ethnographic material created in conversations between the author and Marcus’ mother. Questions that are asked are: How is a life described when it is an institution that narrates it? Could this study be understood as an example of institutional ethnography? What can be gained when adding auto-ethnography to the field of ethnographic research on institutions? A central conclusion is that auto-ethnography can be used in ethnographic research on institutions to give life to those subjects that does not always come across as fully human in the written reports of psychiatric institutions.