Reflecting on the role of a narrative psychosocial approach

As a researcher preoccupied with Hollway and Jefferson’s free association narrative interview method (Hollway and Jefferson 2000, 2012), I was interested to read Sutton and Gates’ (2018) recent contribution. In their paper, they describe the adaption of this method and some of the methodological challenges involved in using it as part of a study exploring the experiences of care and support of adults with intellectual disabilities who have also experienced mental ill-health. A well-thought out strategy was implemented of engaging participants over time, involving initial introductory meetings, the presence of participants’ main carers in interviews and – in the case of some of the older participants – the use of photographs from life history books as visual prompts.