The beautiful in the commonplace

Abstract

During fieldwork in a rehabilitation institution for drug abusers, I 1 became aware that certain, apparently commonplace, informal interaction situations between residents and staff appeared to constitute emotionally moving and identity-constructing situations which apparently had a great impact on the residents. These situations seem, on the surface, to be trivial, minor, superficial and very common. Still, and perhaps because of their 'smallness , they show qualities that suggest authentic interaction, immediate and unfeigned, by participants. This article draws upon an analysis of what I have called 'love-bearing interaction situations (Skatvedt, 2001) and connects this with theoretical insights drawn from the work of Erving Goffman and Johan Asplund, and from Howard Becker s labelling theory.2 Of particular interest is a notion touched upon by Goffman, namely, the expression of love in commonplace interaction

Older people and their care partners’ experiences of living with mental health needs: a focus on collaboration and cooperation

“…Intense interaction ritual can be a very powerful experience in a person's life as these can be touching moments that we do not forget too easily and that give meaning to a person's biography (Collins , p. 43). What we are touched by we have a tendency to seek again and again and in this way the emotionally loaded interactions we participate in became part of our narratives and what we are not touched by passes away without sticking with us (Skatvedt & Costain Schou , Skatvedt et al . ).…”

‘Belonging’. ‘Patients' experiences of social relationships during pulmonary rehabilitation

“…Our study identified the health-care professionals as ‘significant others’ [ 18 , 33 ] who provided adequate support in the groups and in individual consultations. These results are consistent with the positive impact of social support on coping, wellbeing and health in chronic illness [ 15 , 16 , 18 ] and are also in line with the goals for PR [ 1 ].…”

“…These results are in line with a study from a PR context where family-like relationships were shown to be valuable [ 11 ]. In a study of the rehabilitation of drug abusers [ 33 ], trivial and informal ‘commonplace’ situations with staff and residents seemed to be of great importance for perceived emotional support and positive enhancement of the residents' identities. The informal atmosphere and equality in roles during the PR in our study bear similar traits in terms of this ‘commonness’ [ 33 ].…”

“…In a study of the rehabilitation of drug abusers [ 33 ], trivial and informal ‘commonplace’ situations with staff and residents seemed to be of great importance for perceived emotional support and positive enhancement of the residents' identities. The informal atmosphere and equality in roles during the PR in our study bear similar traits in terms of this ‘commonness’ [ 33 ]. Individuals were encouraged to take on an active role, to feel integrated and to share and discover new possibilities for rehabilitation.…”

Nothing matters: the significance of the unidentifiable, the superficial and nonsense

“…Based on fieldwork in the context of mental health care, Skatvedt and colleagues (Skatvedt, 2017;Skatvedt & Scheffels, 2012;Skatvedt & Schou, 2008) indicate the significance of various aspects outside of what they refer to as 'ordinary therapeutic rationality' 2 : "messages beyond the spoken" (Skatvedt & Schou, 2008, p. 90), "breaches in the therapy frame" (Skatvedt & Schou, 2008, p. 95), "pauses as breaches and movement", the significant togetherness found in "empty talk" (Skatvedt & Scheffels, 2012, p. 37), "empty gestures" (Skatvedt, 2017, p. 12), and "the beautiful in the commonplace" (Skatvedt & Schou, 2008, p. 88).…”