Delusions: Seeking epistemic justice for the most unusual of stories

The label of delusion can be so powerful that people so labelled are no longer believed or supported in preferred ways by those around them. This leads to a lack of meaningful and non-pathologising support for their significant, and at times unusual, beliefs. This phenomenon constitutes a form of...

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Main Author: Hamilton Kennedy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Dulwich Centre Foundation 2024-09-01
Series:International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dulwichcentre.com.au/delusions-seeking-epistemic-justice-for-the-most-unusual-of-stories/
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author Hamilton Kennedy
author_facet Hamilton Kennedy
author_sort Hamilton Kennedy
collection DOAJ
description The label of delusion can be so powerful that people so labelled are no longer believed or supported in preferred ways by those around them. This leads to a lack of meaningful and non-pathologising support for their significant, and at times unusual, beliefs. This phenomenon constitutes a form of epistemic injustice. To address this issue, this paper outlines specific approaches practitioners can adopt to better respond to such beliefs, illustrating these strategies with real-world examples from practice. By doing so, it aims to foster a form of epistemic justice that respects the knowledge and experience of people labelled as delusional and supports them to understand and lessen the impact of these often-distressing experiences. This paper is informed by research undertaken with people who had been labelled by psychiatry as “delusional”.
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series International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work
spelling doaj-art-d9db0042cb494885918ccb2547a0dcc92025-08-20T03:28:37ZengDulwich Centre FoundationInternational Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work2981-88182024-09-012395010.4320/LXOK9847Delusions: Seeking epistemic justice for the most unusual of storiesHamilton Kennedyhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8144-0208The label of delusion can be so powerful that people so labelled are no longer believed or supported in preferred ways by those around them. This leads to a lack of meaningful and non-pathologising support for their significant, and at times unusual, beliefs. This phenomenon constitutes a form of epistemic injustice. To address this issue, this paper outlines specific approaches practitioners can adopt to better respond to such beliefs, illustrating these strategies with real-world examples from practice. By doing so, it aims to foster a form of epistemic justice that respects the knowledge and experience of people labelled as delusional and supports them to understand and lessen the impact of these often-distressing experiences. This paper is informed by research undertaken with people who had been labelled by psychiatry as “delusional”.https://dulwichcentre.com.au/delusions-seeking-epistemic-justice-for-the-most-unusual-of-stories/delusionparanoiaschizophreniahallucinationepistemologybelief
spellingShingle Hamilton Kennedy
Delusions: Seeking epistemic justice for the most unusual of stories
International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work
delusion
paranoia
schizophrenia
hallucination
epistemology
belief
title Delusions: Seeking epistemic justice for the most unusual of stories
title_full Delusions: Seeking epistemic justice for the most unusual of stories
title_fullStr Delusions: Seeking epistemic justice for the most unusual of stories
title_full_unstemmed Delusions: Seeking epistemic justice for the most unusual of stories
title_short Delusions: Seeking epistemic justice for the most unusual of stories
title_sort delusions seeking epistemic justice for the most unusual of stories
topic delusion
paranoia
schizophrenia
hallucination
epistemology
belief
url https://dulwichcentre.com.au/delusions-seeking-epistemic-justice-for-the-most-unusual-of-stories/
work_keys_str_mv AT hamiltonkennedy delusionsseekingepistemicjusticeforthemostunusualofstories