| This study uses discursive data to examine how mental health workers and veterans socially construct post-traumatic stress disorder through narratives (Loseke 2007). Challenging the Foucauldian idea that mental health professionals may use their knowledge to work against those they counsel, findings show that they are constantly negotiating between often-restrictive military policies (institutional narrative), and the powerful stories they hear on a daily basis (personal narratives). In fact, they may resist the institutional narrative more than was previously believed. Finally, this study sheds light on the need for further qualitative research into the narratives of those working in and around the military. |
