International Journal of Mental Health· 2026Q2
Gathering input for a mental health intervention based on recovery narratives: a focus group study
- 2citations
- Q2SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Focus groups with mental health service users and professionals identified six key themes for developing a recovery narrative (RN) intervention, emphasizing practical, hopeful content and balancing public availability with anonymity.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Focus groups with 17 participants (service users, peer support workers, healthcare professionals) explored developing a recovery narrative intervention.
- Six major themes emerged: potential effects, content/modality, availability/anonymity, structure, platform, and support.
- Participants highlighted the need for practical and hopeful narrative content.
- Balancing public availability with anonymity is a key consideration for sharing recovery narratives.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Recovery narratives (RNs) could potentially be beneficial for service users, leading to hope and a sense of recognition. It remains understudied how to adequately implement these in mental health treatment. To gather input for the development of a RN intervention, we organized focus groups (FGs) with SMI service users (n=6), autism service users (n=3), peer support workers (n=4) and other health care professionals (n=4). The audio recorded sessions followed a semi-structured interview format addressing nine topics, including the potential of RNs as an intervention, platform to offer RNs and considerations regarding sharing your own RN. Consensus of the thematic analysis of the transcripts was finalized after a member check. Analysis of the nine interview topics resulted into six major themes: 1) Potential positive vs. negative effects; 2) Narrative content and modality; 3) Public availability vs. anonymity; 4) Freedom vs. structure; 5) Platform structuring; and 6) Contact options and emotional support. Member checking confirmed credibility of the findings. Developing a structured yet tailored RN intervention as part of mental healthcare treatment seems promising. Several important considerations need to be taken into account, such as practical and hopeful RN content, to increase the potential for recovery promoting effects.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. International Journal of Mental Health, 2026 · DOI ↗
Continue with a free account
Ask the paper: 3 free questions a day about this paper; save it, get its citation, new summaries every day for your field. Takeaways are Premium.
Continue free on the webSign in with Google or Apple; no card needed. You come back to this paper.
On your phone:
Field: General Health Professions
General Health ProfessionsHealth Professions