Ottar Ness
Background and activities
Research Interests
My training, research, and policy interests focus on relational welfare and well-being focusing on citizenship, public value, and social justice. Especially, I am interested in recovery in mental health and substance use. I am also interested in family therapy and relational therapies. I do also research within leadership, organisational factors and evaluation capcity building in public sector orgnaisations (New Public Governance). I am also focusing on the theories of science, qualitative research methods, and the use of participatory action research and citizen science methodologies.
Research Groups
- I am Head of the Research Group on Relational Welfare and Well-being
- I am a member of the Research Group Counselling Sciences
Course Coordinator
- RAD3040 – Relational Welfare and Well-being (Master)
- RAD6051 – Strength-Based Communities of Learning: Theories and Practices (Continuing Education, master-level)
- RAD6052 – Strength-Based Communities of Learning: Leadership- and organisational development (Continuing Education, master-level)
Supervision
I supervise on topics related to my research interests on Master- and PhD-level.
Adjunct Positions
I am an Adjunct Professor at VID Scientific University at the family therapy and systemic practice programs, and Senior Advisor at the National Competence Centre for Mental Health Care (Napha).
Guest Editor - call for papers 2021:
1. Special Issue: "Promoting Well-Being, Health Equity, and Citizenship through Inclusive Democratic Innovation" in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
2. Special Issue: "Substance abuse and Mental Health among Young Adults". in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
3. Special Issue: "Co-production and co-creation: Perspectives, forms of practice, and contexts" in Jorunal Akademisk Kvarter
4. Special Issue: "Psychology for the Common Good: The Interdependence of Citizenship, Justice, and Well-being across the Globe" in Frontiers Psychology
Scientific, academic and artistic work
A selection of recent journal publications, artistic productions, books, including book and report excerpts. See all publications in the database
Journal publications
- (2021) Development of salutogenic coping skills: experiences with daily challenges among young adults suffering from serious mental illness. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being. vol. 16 (1).
- (2021) Immigrants’ experiences on integration while attempting to access the labour market: Implications for social work practice. Social Sciences. vol. 10 (4).
- (2021) Inner and Outer Voices in Research: How Dialogical Approaches Can Enhance Knowledge Development in Mental Health Care. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy.
- (2021) Part II: Living Life: A Meta-Synthesis Exploring Recovery as Processual Experiences. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH). vol. 18.
- (2021) “The troublesome other and I”: Parallel stories of separated parents in prolonged conflicts. Journal of Marital & Family Therapy. vol. 47 (1).
- (2021) "It is not just about doing or saying the right things": Working systemically with parents whose children are placed in public care. Journal of Family Therapy.
- (2021) Peer support workers in co-production and co-creation in public mental health and addiction services: Protocol for a scoping review. PLOS ONE. vol. 16 (3).
- (2020) Relational recovery in co-occurring conditions: a qualitative study of first-person experiences. Advances in Dual Diagnosis: Policy, practice and research in mental health and substance use. vol. 13 (2).
- (2020) Den psykopolitiske, den kønspolitiske og den radikale - diskussioner af menneskesyn og etiske perspektiver i tre dominerende forestillinger om god praksis på psykisk sundhedsområdet. Dansk pædagogisk tidsskrift.
- (2020) Relational welfare: a socially just response to co-creating health and wellbeing for all. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health.
- (2020) Making Come-Alive and Keeping Un-Alive: How People Relate to Self-Guided Web-Based Health Interventions. Qualitative Health Research. vol. 30 (6).
- (2020) «Jeg får et helt annet innblikk»: Fagpersoners erfaringer med familieorientert praksis i rusfeltet. Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. vol. 37 (3).
- (2020) Exploring staff conceptions of prevention and management practices in encounters with staff-directed aggression in supported housing following education and training. International Journal of Mental Health Systems. vol. 14.
- (2020) Managers’ perceptions of competence and practice development following education in the prevention and management of staff-directed aggression: promoting person-centred practice. International Practice Development Journal. vol. 10 (2).
- (2020) «Å gjøre noe sammen vi ikke kunne gjort alene»: Rask psykisk helsehjelp som et interkommunalt psykisk helsetjenestetilbud. Tidsskrift for psykisk helsearbeid. vol. 17 (2-3).
- (2020) A heuristic model for collaborative practice – Part 1: A meta-synthesis of empirical findings on collaborative strategies in community mental health and substance abuse practice. International Journal of Mental Health Systems. vol. 14.
- (2020) A heuristic model for collaborative practice – Part 2: Development of the collaborative, dialogue‑based clinical practice model for community mental health and substance abuse care. International Journal of Mental Health Systems. vol. 14.
- (2019) Qualitative Interview Studies of Working Mechanisms in Electronic Health: Tools to Enhance Study Quality. Journal of Medical Internet Research. vol. 21 (5).
- (2019) Getting Change-Space: A Grounded Theory Study of Automated eHealth Therapy. The Qualitative Report (TQR). vol. 24 (7).
- (2019) Encountering staff‑directed aggression within mental health and substance abuse services: exploring conceptions of practice following education. International Journal of Mental Health Systems. vol. 13 (20).