ABSTRACT
The main theme in this paper is the rehabilitation of war-veterans. Through insight into the veterans experience with user participation, this paper takes its starting point in a user oriented perspective on rehabilitation.
I have chosen to limit my field of study to a specific group of veterans namely those afflicted with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – PTSD.
The majorities of those affected by PTSD are a part of the working age population, but find themselves outside of the workforce, in an uncertain situation. Guidelines for the professionals working with rehabilitation of the veterans are defined by the Vetaran Policy which is founded on principles of acknowledgement and support. The user perspective is an integrated part of the work of the Veterans Centre where the professionals together with the veterans - and from the point of their individual resources - aim to help them sustain or reestablish contact with the labour market.
My primary assumption is that although individuals in a marginalized position have the primary responsibility for their own lives, their success depends on more than their own resources, strengths and activities, and should be viewed in context of the many different and intertwined structural relations and authorities.
This thesis therefore seeks to answer three main questions.
• In what manner are the professionals able to support the veterans in order for the former to gain control over their (work)life/situation?
• In which way are the practice of user perspective and the structural conditions of the professionals compatible?
• And finally, how does the mutual relationship between the professionals, the system and the client effect the dynamics and creation of learning?
In order to define and analyze the complexity of user oriented rehabilitation, using the collected qualitative data, the theoretical methodology in this thesis is founded in a combination of phenomenology and hermeneutics. The terminology issous is to be found in ”Empowerment”, ”Self-efficacy”, Antonovsky’s ”Sence og Coherence” og Bourdieau’s ”The Forms of Capital”.
Conclusion: The analysis of the collected data shows that the best way for the professionals at the Veteran Center and other authorities to help with the rehabilitation of the veterans is achieved by supporting and empowering them guided by individual needs and resource’s.
Keywords: PTSD, Rehabililtering, Veterancentret, Krigsveteraner