Elien Neimeijer

75 1. Autonomy: Give me guidance and space “ I don’t like that [when sociotherapist are strict]. That way you will never become independent. (…) The sociotherapists should have protected me by not letting me go on my own. But they left me on my own (...) I was constantly taking drugs and I was constantly using again.” (Charlie). “ [When clients don’t obey the rules] it is important that there is structure and the sociotherapist talks to the client (…) When ...the sociotherapists are in the office, I feel unsafe. Then I am afraid that I will be touched and use violence. If the sociothera- pists are there, it does not happen (...) I like it when a sociotherapists makes jokes and doesn’t pay strict attention to what I am doing. There are also sociotherapists who are very strict, just like prison guards. It might be better for me if someone is strict and watches over me. Some sociotherapists say nothing, while it is better if they do say something” (Rachel). All participants discuss the limitations in their autonomy that they experience with regard to their privacy, freedom of movement and self-determination at different levels and how these limitations frustrate them. Sometimes they refer to small and everyday things, such as the kitchen cupboards that are locked or that they (cannot) choose which toppings they would like to have on their bread. At other times, it concerns matters that have a major impact on their lives, such as the granting of leave or the extension of their obligatory treatment. At the same time, they realize that these restrictions in autonomy are necessary to ensure the safety and quality of life in the groups and to protect soci- ety and / or themselves. According to the patients, it is important that sociotherapists understand when and in which situations they should give the person space and when not. This decision is complex because the potential safety risks and the autonomy of the person compete with each other and risk behaviour is related to various individual and contextual factors, which change over time. For example, Charlie emphasizes at the beginning of the interview that it is necessary for his recovery to increase his independ- ence, while later in the interview he talks about the moments in which he, due to a lack of supervision, uses drugs.