The politics of consciousness: illness or individuation?

Abstract

Mental health professionals are trained to treat clients who are experiencing psychological disturbance and they regard such symptomatology as signs of illness. This article proposes that psychological disturbances could be understood for their potential contribution towards growth and wholeness, as well as having value in bringing about self‐actualization. We discuss findings from quality surveys that reflect the experiences of clients who attended an innovative group‐therapy programme in a community mental‐health setting. The therapeutic approach was informed by methods from the school of process‐oriented psychology. The quality surveys demonstrate significant levels of subjective improvement in clients' quality of life, as well as identifying increased interest in working creatively with their presenting difficulties, which had previously been identified as problematic by both the professionals in the mental health system and the clients themselves.