Danielle Spencer presents Narrative Medicine and Metagnosis
The Research Centre for Culture and Health (Kulttuurin ja terveyden tutkimusyksikkö) and the Words for Care: Literature, Healthcare and Democracy project, based at the University of Turku, are delighted to announce a public lecture by Danielle Spencer, Narrative Medicine and Metagnosis.
Narrative Medicine is a form of clinical care conducted with attentiveness to narrative. It is also an interdisciplinary field of inquiry joining healthcare and the humanities. I will describe fundamental principles and practices of the field, as well as its applications in clinical practice. As an example of its applications, I discuss my work on metagnosis, referring to the diagnosis of a longstanding undetected condition. This can occur when the condition simply was not detected—as was the case for my own long-standing visual field “defect”—and can also occur when the diagnostic definitions have shifted, as with ADHD and autism spectrum disorders. I propose that a narrative medicine approach to such revelations illuminates different understandings of normalcy, disease, disability, and identity. These experiences also invite different “readings” and open towards multiple possible narrative outcomes. Ultimately such narrative awareness promises greater empowerment in healthcare and beyond.
Narrative Medicine is a form of clinical care conducted with attentiveness to narrative. It is also an interdisciplinary field of inquiry joining healthcare and the humanities. I will describe fundamental principles and practices of the field, as well as its applications in clinical practice. As an example of its applications, I discuss my work on metagnosis, referring to the diagnosis of a longstanding undetected condition. This can occur when the condition simply was not detected—as was the case for my own long-standing visual field “defect”—and can also occur when the diagnostic definitions have shifted, as with ADHD and autism spectrum disorders. I propose that a narrative medicine approach to such revelations illuminates different understandings of normalcy, disease, disability, and identity. These experiences also invite different “readings” and open towards multiple possible narrative outcomes. Ultimately such narrative awareness promises greater empowerment in healthcare and beyond.