Insights into Youth Healthcare: Exploring Representations in De Jeugdkliniek: Als Niets Meer Werkt

Abstract

This thesis analyses the representation of the Yes We Can Clinics (YWCC) in the documentary series DE JEUGDKLINIEK: ALS NIETS MEER WERKT and explores how meaning is constructed about the broader system of youth healthcare institutions in the Netherlands. This documentary series offers an exclusive insight into the treatment provided to youth struggling with mental health and addictions. There is significant media criticism towards youth care institutions in the Netherlands and there is an abundance of information regarding the representation of these facilities on television. This research investigates what perspectives on the YWCC are presented in the documentary series, primarily examining them through the lenses of the medical model and the social model of mental distress. Additionally, this research explores prevailing assertions, such as those articulated by Hanna Selby, suggesting that broader societal factors that contribute to mental health conditions are often overlooked in mental health programs. The main question posed in this research is as follows: how does the representation of the YWCC in the documentary series DE JEUGDKLINIEK: ALS NIETS MEER WERKT create meaning about the broader system of youth healthcare institutions in the Netherlands. To answer the research question, a textual analysis is conducted based on Bill Nichols’ conceptual framework regarding the voice of documentary. The analysis is based on the first and final episode of the series and focuses on invention, arrangement, and style in these episodes. This involves examining how narrative structures, the evidence supporting the argument, and stylistic elements function as rhetorical tools to represent the YWCC. Through this representation, broader implications regarding the youth healthcare system in the Netherlands are inferred. The analysis of DE JEUGDKLINIEK: ALS NIETS MEER WERKT reveals that the series employs a problem-solution structure. The YWCC is represented as the unique solution to severe mental health issues among youth, while the broader youth healthcare system is posed as the problem, lacking knowledge and deficient in providing effective support. The efficacy of the clinic’s working methods and the prospects for recovery within its confines are constantly validated through its primary sources, providing an idealized image of the YWCC. However, the lack of outsider perspectives and verifiable evidence ensures a biased representation that suggests shortcomings in the broader system’s provision of care. The representation predominantly presents a view aligning with what Gary Morris calls the medical model of mental distress, proposing medical intervention as the key to recovery. This research highlights the need for a more comprehensive approach to youth health care as it reveals a narrative that focusses on a biased portrayal of the clinic and its successes. The portrayal implicates the inadequacies of alternative approaches without addressing the origins of the challenges nor the structural factors impacting youth care, such as critical aspects of social inclusion. It is crucial to note the neglect of potential ethical implications related to filming in a clinical environment, as well as the restricted focus on two out of six episodes, potentially disregarding other significant aspects that shape the portrayal of the YWCC. Further research could explore audience responses to the series and its impact on societal discourse.