Poststructuralism, governmentality, and gender perspectives: Caring for a relative with a severe mental illness within the family

The aim of this paper is to report the results of an empirical study conducted among members of families caring for a relative with a severe mental illness. A poststructuralist theoretical framework was used, more precisely the works of Jacques Donzelot and Michel Foucault. The main findings of this qualitative research indicate that the government of families is carried out through complex mechanisms. Furthermore, family members at risk of violence, and in situations of vulnerability, must use the legal system to obtain formal psychiatric assistance. Finally, this research allowed us to analyze that a double mandate (caring for the relative and social control) is imposed upon families, considered both as an object and subject of power. In this context, the woman’s role is often overinvested by the psychiatric and legal apparatuses. As a result, gender inequalities risk being produced.