Code-switching in mental health recovery narratives of Hong Kong storytellers

Abstract

Background Considering persistently high levels of mental health stigma in Hong Kong in recent years, scholars and mental health professionals alike have demonstrated strong interest in combating this issue. Existing research suggests that recovery storytelling, which involves an individual with a lived experience of mental illness sharing their personal story publicly, is one of the most effective anti-stigma strategies to date. Methods Using a narrative inquiry approach, we examined the recovery stories of seven Cantonese-speaking individuals who participated in the More than a Label mental health anti-stigma campaign in Hong Kong. We specifically examined how the discursive strategy of code-switching functioned to clarify, emphasize, or distract from certain elements of the story. Results Our analysis demonstrated that code-switching in our data functioned in three distinct ways, namely as: (1) a distancing strategy when discussing troubling past experiences; (2) an authenticating strategy when recalling interactions carried out in English-speaking settings; and (3) a foregrounding strategy to highlighting the main points in the story. Conclusions Our study highlights the importance of linguistic research in informing the development of person-centred approaches in both mental health clinical and advocacy work. We suggest that recognizing linguistic behaviours such as code-switching allows mental health clinical and organizational staff to be more sensitive to signs of potential distress and probe further inquiry amongst clients and lived-experience storytellers. We discuss how these findings can be used to educate lived-experience storytellers on the rhetorical functions of language use such as code-switching.