This article is based on a study of user participation and insight among 30 patients in community health centres in northern Norway. The living conditions of the patients have changed because of mental illness. Through a case study, we analyze the meaning of contexts in a meeting with Sverre, an older man, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia many years ago. One of the core features of schizophrenia is the patient’s lack of insight. Case studies have a valuable place in illness narratives, giving voice to suffering in a way different than the biomedical voice. Sverre’s narrative performance represents a different insight, which challenges the perception of everyday life in the clinic and our work with this patient group. By using a performative narrative perspective, the concept of insight emerges as a relational term and something that is developed in the dialogue, rather than through the static characteristics of the patient.
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