"Body Work" in Home‐Based Substance Abuse Care

This study examines "body work" in the context of home‐based substance abuse care in Finland, which is provided to adults with intoxicant problems and needing short‐ and long‐term support in their everyday lives. This article is concerned specifically with body work, which can be defined a...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social Inclusion
Main Author: Günther, Kirsi (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Cogitatio Press 2021
In: Social Inclusion
Further subjects:B home‐based care
B care work
B body work
B home visit
B substance abuse care
B Dirty work
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:This study examines "body work" in the context of home‐based substance abuse care in Finland, which is provided to adults with intoxicant problems and needing short‐ and long‐term support in their everyday lives. This article is concerned specifically with body work, which can be defined as care work focusing directly on the bodies of others. Through a twofold analysis of 13 audio‐recorded home visits and ethnographic field notes, it examines what body work is in home‐based substance abuse care, how close body work is and how workers and clients negotiate about it. The study shows that home as a site of care has an impact on substance abuse care. The worker’s home visit settles into a tension relation between private and public even if the care is a part of weekly routine. Body work is holistic care work necessitating slight, medium, and extreme bodily intimacy in taking care of and supporting client’s well‐being. During the home visit, worker and client negotiate the body work and its content. Worker and client communicate verbally and non‐verbally by gaze and body movements. Often the workers have to balance between disciplinary, participatory, and caring approaches to support the client living in the best possible way.
ISSN:2183-2803
Contains:Enthalten in: Social Inclusion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.17645/si.v9i3.4310