Recovery in Telling Life Stories

Summary

This project tests the Recovery In Telling Life Stories (RETELL) intervention, aimed at supporting personal recovery in people with severe mental illness (SMI). While many of those with SMI experience symptom control, their quality of life often remains low due to social loss, negative self-perceptions, and identity-related challenges not addressed by standard treatments. Through a process of narrative repair, the RETELL intervention helps participants explore the personal consequences of mental illness while supporting the enhancement of narratives that strengthen identity and foster well-being. The intervention is delivered across 8-12 sessions and will be assessed for feasibility of both the intervention and study procedures. We will also explore its preliminary impact on recovery, quality of life, symptoms, functioning, self-stigma, and personality, using a multiple single-case A-B-A design. We expect the intervention and study procedures to show acceptable feasibility. We further hypothesize that participants' scores on recovery and well-being will be low at baseline, improve during the intervention, and remain higher after the intervention ends and at 3-month follow-up. This study will provide a foundation for future randomized controlled trials.

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

* Adults between the ages of 18 and 65 years
* A self-reported principal diagnosis of one or more of the following: schizophrenia (F20), bipolar disorder (F31), personality disorders (F60), obsessive-compulsive disorder (F42), anxiety disorders (F41), recurrent depressive disorder (F33), eating disorders (F50), hyperkinetic disorders (F90), post-traumatic stress disorder (F43.1), Asperger syndrome (F84.5)
* Not in full recovery (Brief INSPIRE-O \< 50)
* Danish language proficiency
* Medication stabilized (i.e., same type and dosage for a minimum of 8 weeks)
* Ability and willingness to give informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

* Self-reported diagnosis of mental retardation (F70-79) and/or organic mental disorder (F00-09)
* Psychiatric symptoms, thoughts of self-harm and/or substance abuse of self-reported severity which are likely to prevent one or all of the following: attendance at scheduled sessions, completion of questionnaires before, during and after the intervention, meaningful engagement in the therapeutic process
* Psychiatric hospitalization in the past 4 weeks
* Prior conviction of violent crime
* Currently homeless
* Currently in psychotherapy initiated within the past 6 months.

Conditions12

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