Ottar Ness
Professor of Counselling
Department of Education and Lifelong Learning Faculty of Social and Educational SciencesBackground and activities
My training, research, and policy interests focus on recovery in mental health and substance use and citizenship under the umbrella of relational welfare, public value, dignity, and the common good. This involves topics such as health equity, co-construction, co-production and co-creation, social justice, social inclusion, asset- and contextual-based perspectives, nurturing communities and environments, democracy and governance, family therapy and relational therapies and recovery-oriented services and practices. I am interested the philosophy of science and the use of participatory action research methodologies.
I am Adjunct Professor of Mental Health at the University South-Eastern Norway and Senior Advisor at the National Competence Centre for Mental Health Care (Napha).
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
- (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. Qualitative Report. 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).
- (2019) “Nourishing communion”: A less recognized dimension of support for young persons facing mental health challenges?. The Humanistic psychologist.
- (2019) “Keeping balance”, “Keeping distance” and “Keeping on with life”: Child positions in divorced families with prolonged conflicts. Children and youth services review. vol. 102.
- (2019) To navigate the normative and the not-normative family therapists negotiating their professional identities with parents whose children are placed in public care. Contemporary family therapy. vol. 41 (2).
- (2019) «Jeg føler meg som en utvidet organisme» – unge voksnes opplevelse av parforholdet som mulighet og begrensning. Scandinavian Psychologist.
- (2018) Between a rock and a softer place - A discourse analysis of helping cultures in crisis resolution teams. Qualitative Social Work. vol. 17 (2).
- (2018) Manejando imprevistos na facilitação grupal: um estudo de caso com o exercício como se. Revista da SPAGESP. vol. 19 (1).
- (2018) The Relational Essence of Natural Recovery: Natural Recovery as Relational Practice. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. vol. 17 (2).
- (2018) "Caminhando lado a lado": prascticás colaborativas nos ttratamentos de saúde mental e uso de substáncias. Nova Perspectiva Sistêmica. vol. 61.
- (2018) Continuing Education in Mental Health: Critical Moments to Analyze Group Process. Paidéia. vol. 28 (e2834).
- (2018) “I now have a life!” Lived experiences of participation in music and theater in a mental health hospital. PLoS ONE. vol. 13 (12).
- (2017) Korsang som recovery-fremmende tiltak for personer med psykiske helseplager. Scandinavian Psychologist. vol. 4.
- (2017) Rituals that helped heal a nation after a terror attack. Scandinavian Psychologist. vol. 4 (6e).
- (2017) Researching Systemic Therapy History: In Search of a Definition. Journal of Family Psychotherapy. vol. 28 (2).
- (2017) Commentary I: Reflection on ‘Conversational Resources for Clinical Practice with Families: Social Construction in Action’. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy. vol. 38 (3).
- (2017) “Sorting things out together”: Young adults’ experiences of collaborative practices in mental health and substance use care. American Journal of Psychiatric Rehabilitation. vol. 20 (2).
- (2017) Helpful support to promote participation in school and work – subjective experiences of people with mental health problems: a literature review. Social Work in Mental Health. vol. 16 (3).
- (2017) Acting Out: Enabling Meaningful Participation among People with Long-Term Mental Health Problems in a Music and Theater Workshop. Qualitative Health Research. vol. 27 (11).