Ripples and waves: poetic inquiry into mental health services for disabled people

This article embarks on our reflective journey through the landscape of mental health care for disabled people. We discuss how ableism is manifested in mental health care settings, elaborating on embodied and intersubjective approaches. We engaged in a critical, ethnographic, collective exploration and started analysis of data using Reflexive Thematic Analysis to identify patterns in our discussion transcripts. These themes informed the transition into poetic inquiry, where we synthesised analytical insights into a single, autobiographic narrative. In this poem, the issues of ableism, power dynamics, oppressive practices, and the need for relational care and community engagement became prominent. We discuss our narrative within the context of internalised ableism, shame and lack of embodiment that makes mental health care inaccessible and challenging for disabled people. We hope our impact will create ripples that resonate and eventually form a wave with the power to effect change.