What is it about?

Together with patients, clinicians and experts we designed a 12-week group narrative intervention, that may be helpful in enhancing personal recovery in individuals with personality problems. Writing assignments about the past, a turning point towards recovery, and the present and future, support the exploration of new perspectives on one’s life, which are shared within the group and documented in a digital application to print a unique life story book. Both patients and clinicians are plain positive about the intervention, which seems especially suitable during the last part of a psychotherapeutic treatment.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

Recent studies have shown that psychotherapies are effective in reducing personality pathology associated with significant distress and/or broad functional impairment. However, problems in psychosocial functioning may persist after successful treatment and may contribute to relapse. An additional intervention that is explicitly aimed at promoting psychosocial functioning could be an important innovation in healthcare. To this end, we used a recovery framework to design an innovative narrative group intervention for people with personality disorders.

Perspectives

Designing and offering this intervention has taught me a lot about the importance of a compassionate view on one's own life story. Participants felt that every person with personality problems should be able to follow the intervention in order to work on personal recovery.

MSc Silvia Pol
GGNet Netwerk voor Geestelijke Gezondheidszorg in Oost-Gelderland en Zutphen

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: An empowering story: Participatory design and feasibility of a recovery-focused narrative group intervention for persons with personality disorders., Professional Psychology Research and Practice, December 2023, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/pro0000547.
You can read the full text:

Read

Contributors

The following have contributed to this page