Drifting Toward Mental Health

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Abstract
Interviews with 41 high-risk adolescents explained the link between the process of empowerment and mental health. Participants in this study demonstrated how aspects of power that enhance the construction of health-promoting identities form a base for personal and social resilience in youth. Without knowledge of postmodern theory, participants articulated the interdependence between their well-being and their capacity to influence the social discourses that construct their identities. As participants “drift” between these discourses, they seek the power to control the mental health resources required to maintain the identities that enhance their sense of well-being. Helping professionals can play an important role in this empowerment process by assisting high-risk youth redefine their personal narratives as health-seeking, in opposition to the stigmatizing stories others tell about them.