The Life Story of Kenneth (2014)

Undergraduate: Joseph Konstanzer

Faculty Advisor: Charles Price
Department: Psychology & Neuroscience

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The purpose of this research project is to collect, record, and report the life story of Kenneth, a man who has severe depression and has been in mental health care in one form or another for most of his 63 years. ¿The Life Story of Kenneth¿ includes his early years growing up in a privileged family and flows into his college years spent at Stanford, where he begins to experience symptoms of depression. His first contact with mental health professionals and his subsequent experiences with mental hospitals and outpatient treatments are accounted in detail. Kenneth¿s story then reaches a sort of climax with his time spent without a stable residence in Florida. Kenneth¿s historical influence as a founding member of Club Nova, a mental health community center in Carrboro, is also explored. The narrative concludes with where Kenneth thinks he will go from here and some more general reflections on his own life. The primary research material used is three 30-40 minute interviews conducted with Kenneth at Club Nova.