DEL I På tröskeln in… - Doria

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it. Therefore, how this particular way of being takes form spatially 584 as the space in the
movement
of mental health is the subject of research interest here.
To begin with, the
‘space’ has been seen as 1) a continuous area of expanse which is free,
available,
or unoccupied, 2) the freedom and scope to live, think, and develop in a way that suits
one. n abstract sense - the spatiality [spaciousness??] of a
585 That is, ‘space’ connotes - in a
human
being, and conceivably above all in the world of psychiatric care. In addition we could
state that a psychiatric nurse and a patient in a very real sense participate in the shared world. For
that reason one should ask if it is really possible to understand what this means for caring if we
are not aware of this context in itself. Then, in view of this fact that the human being’s existence
and health take place, the starting point in this study has been that the world of caring has a
centrality of its own which could be brought closer by an understanding and knowledge of this
context by itself.
The overall purpose was to develop a theoretical model of space from the caring science point of
view. By doing so the purpose was also to offer an ideal concept of space to caring science. The
aim of the study has been to make a theoretical and ontological investigation of what the space is:
• What is the substance of space in the movement of mental health and suffering?
• How (as what) is the space formed from the patient perspective in the world of
psychiatric caring?
The theoretical and epistemological perspective
The conceptual framework is a central part in a preunderstanding of the researcher. The context
of preunderstanding in question is anchored in the explicit epistemological perspective. 586
According to this a human being is an entity of body, soul and spirit. Furthermore a human being
584 It is to be underlined that ‘spatiality’(rumslighet in Swedish) is not used according to psychological referring to
lines, areas or spaces and suchlike, neither the relations between them, nor mental or physical ability in relation to
them. Instead it is used in a metaphoric and immaterial sense to signify a certain spatial movement in the world of
caring. More closely, it is a way of being that in a spatial and room giving sense is supposed to turn out as the human
being’s unique space in the movement of mental health and “the drama of suffering”.
585 The New Oxford Dictionary of English 1998.
586 Achieved at the Department of Caring Science, Åbo Akademi University, Finland.