Cartography of freely-given relationships in mental health Timothy Elliott Barlott Master of Science in Rehabilitation Science Graduate Certificate in Community-Based Research and Evaluation Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy Diploma in Child and Youth Care A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2021 School of Social Sciences (Sociology) Abstract People diagnosed with serious mental illness experience a constrained and regulated participation in society, as their social networks are typically limited to only paid support workers and family. While research and practice in the mental health sector has focused primarily on providing services, this thesis explores a community-oriented alternative. Drawing on the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, I explore how disruptive, relational processes might occur in the cramped spaces of the mental health sector. In partnership with a small community mental health organisation, this project explored freely-given/ally relationships (i.e., non-therapeutic, non-institutional, non-paid, and non-familial relationships) between people who have a diagnosis of serious mental illness and people in the community. Over a four-month period, I spent in-depth time with four pairs of people, getting to know them through conversation, observation, and social mapping. Understanding these relationships as a Deleuzio-Guattarian ally assemblage, I wanted to explore: What are these assemblages like? How do they assemble/disassemble? What do they do/produce? How do transformative processes unfold in ally assemblages (if at all)? Employing a postqualitative, cartographic approach, this thesis maps the composition and transformative processes of ally assemblages. I introduce a Deleuzio-Guattarian theoretical framework (Chapters 1 and 3) to interrogate the dominant mental health assemblages in the current literature (Chapter 2). I then outline this study’s ethnographic research methods (Chapter 4), including the data collection methods and theory-driven cartographic approach. Chapter 5 elaborates this cartographic approach and operationalises it through a performative re-presentation of a research interview. Subsequently, I discuss the results, beginning with an overview of the four ally assemblages in the project (Chapter 6). I traverse the territories (Chapter 7), becoming (Chapter 8), and desire (Chapter 9) of these assemblages, sketching the topography and social production of these relationships. Drawing from a range of Deleuzio-Guattarian “becomings” (becoming-minor, becoming-reactive, becoming-animal), I articulate a nuanced understanding of ally assemblages – how they assemble and disassemble, and how they transform. In Chapter 7, I sketch a cartography of the territories in ally assemblages, using the conceptualisation of active/reactive force relations and becoming-reactive. Reactive forces (e.g., people categorised with mental illness) can separate active forces (e.g., allies) from what they can ii do through a process of becoming-reactive, softening the territories of ally assemblages, and producing supple, non-dominating hierarchies. In Chapter 8, I sketch a cartography of becoming in ally assemblages. As anticipated, these relationships were characterised by reciprocity, but I also suggest that it is their aspects of non- reciprocity that had transformative power. The supple hierarchy of ally assemblages produces an affirmative (and collective) force of “careless generosity” and “care-full generosity.” Careless generosity is excessive, with disregard for convention and a lack of interest in payment or acknowledgement, whereas care-full generosity is full of intention, vigilantly working to bring benefit to another. These flows of generosity opened new possibilities in the lives of people categorised with serious mental illness. In Chapter 9, I explore generative/creative impulses of desire that produce affirmative forces in ally assemblages. Drawing from Deleuzio-Guattarian concepts of desiring-machines and desire, I consider how desire both constructs and is socially constructed in ally assemblages. I also explore how ally assemblages produce a particular form of Deleuzio-Guattarian desire, a desire for a people to come. I conclude by folding these maps into the scholarly landscape of befriending practices and allyship in mental health (Chapter 10). I outline how ally assemblages flow in an in-between space that is neither clearly allyship (as discussed in the literature) nor befriending practice (an approach used in mental health). In relation to emerging literature on accompliceship, I present the notion of allyship as an ongoing micropolitical process of becoming-complicit in ally assemblages, where allies move towards taking on someone else’s struggle. Through this thesis, I contribute a fresh understanding of allyship in mental health and open up possibilities for generating transformative lines of flight and liberating desires in the community mental health sector. In addition, I present a novel empirical application of Deleuzio-Guattarian philosophy and postqualitative scholarship in the field of mental health. iii Declaration by author This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, financial support and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my higher degree by research candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award. I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the policy and procedures of The University of Queensland, the thesis be made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 unless a period of embargo has been approved by the Dean of the Graduate School. I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Where appropriate I have obtained copyright permission from the copyright holder to reproduce material in this thesis and have sought permission from co- authors for any jointly authored works included in the thesis. iv Publications included in this thesis Barlott, T., Shevellar, L., & Turpin, M. (2017). Becoming-minor: Mapping new territories in occupational science. Journal of Occupational Science, 24(4), 524–534. https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2017.1378121 Barlott, T., Shevellar, L., Turpin, M., & Setchell, J. (2020a). Destabilising social inclusion and recovery, and pursuing “lines of flight” in the mental health sector. Sociology of Health & Illness, 42(6), 1328–1343. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.13106 Barlott, T., Shevellar, L., Turpin, M., & Setchell, J. (2020b). The dissident interview: A deterritorialising guerrilla encounter. Qualitative Inquiry, 26(6), 650–660. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800419859041 Submitted manuscripts included in this thesis No manuscripts submitted for publication. Other publications during candidature Peer-reviewed papers Barlott, T. (in press). Becoming-sick. Journal of Autoethnography. Barlott, T., Adams, K., & Cook, A. (2016). Increasing participation in the information society by people with disabilities and their families in lower-income countries using mainstream technologies. Universal Access in the Information Society, 15(2), 189–198. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-015-0418-z Barlott, T., Catchpole, E., Kranz, R., Aplin, T., Le Goullon, D., Toivanen, A., & Hutchens, S. (2020). Connectedness and ICT: Opening the door to possibilities for people with intellectual disabilities. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 24(4), 503–521. https://doi.org/10.1177/1744629519831566 Barlott, T., Nelson, A., Brown, R., Jackson, K., & Rulfs, J. (2020). Using SMS to support reflection in health professional students on placement in an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health context. Australian Journal of Clinical Education, 7(1), 1–16. Barlott, T., Shevellar, L., & Turpin, M. (2017). Becoming-minor: Mapping new territories in occupational science. Journal of Occupational Science, 24(4), 524–534. https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2017.1378121 v Barlott, T., Shevellar, L., Turpin, M., & Setchell, J. (2020a). Destabilising social inclusion and recovery, and pursuing “lines of flight” in the mental health sector. Sociology of Health & Illness, 42(6), 1328–1343. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.13106 Barlott, T., Shevellar, L., Turpin, M., & Setchell, J. (2020b). The dissident interview: A deterritorialising guerrilla encounter. Qualitative Inquiry, 26(6), 650–660. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800419859041 Barlott, T. & Turpin, M. (2021). Desiring occupation: Theorising the passion, creativity and social production of everyday life. Journal of Occupational Science. Early online. Setchell, J., Barlott, T., & Torres, M.