Use of Patient Stories in Health and Social Care

Recounting stories is a powerful medium through which humans frame and reframe their experience. Within health care patients are encouraged to tell their own stories and these have growing relevance in diagnosis and management. This paper uses one autobiographical account, written for the authors, to explore some of the issues this raises. It is argued that whilst stories have an important role to play, they may also be counterproductive to full understanding and management of health and illness.