Recovery in Telling Life Stories

NCT07082777 | Active Not Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: 2022-0367531, 38781-10-72-56-25
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 20
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief 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.

Conditions

Anxiety Disorders; Recurrent Depressive Disorder; PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; Hyperkinetic Disorders; Eating Disorders; Schizophrenia Disorders; Personality Disorders; Obsessive - Compulsive Disorder; Bipolar Disorders; Aspergers Syndrome

Keywords

personal recovery; recovery; narrative identity; narrative therapy; severe mental illness

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Intervention feasibility: Treatment dropout rate

  Treatment dropout is defined as participation in less than three out of the four therapeutic tasks of the intervention. Feasibility will be indicated by a dropout rate \< 30%.

  Through intervention phase (T2), between 8-12 weeks

• Intervention feasibility: Satisfaction with treatment (quantitative)

  Participant-reported treatment satisfaction using the using the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ), a brief, standardized self-report measure designed to assess clients' overall satisfaction with healthcare or psychological services. It consists of 8 items rated on a Likert scale, covering aspects such as service quality, perceived helpfulness, and whether the service met the client's needs. Total score range: 8-32, with higher numbers indicating greater satisfaction. Feasibility will be indicated by a mean score of 20 or above.

  Post-intervention (T3)

• Intervention feasibility: Change from pre-intervention throughout the intervention to post-intervention and follow-up in personal recovery

  Recovery will be assessed using the Brief INSPIRE-O, consisting of 5 items reflecting five dimensions of personal recovery: connectedness with others, hope and optimism for the future, positive identity, meaning in life, and empowerment, with a score range of 0-100. Feasibility will be indicated by stability or increase throughout the study period compared to pre-intervention.

  Pre-intervention (T1), intervention (T2), post-intervention (T3) and follow-up (T4)

Secondary Outcomes (12)

• Intervention feasibility: Number of participants with treatment-related adverse events

  From the beginning of the intervention (T2) to the final 3-month follow-up (T4)

• Intervention feasibility: Satisfaction with the therapeutic alliance

  Intervention phase (T2)

• Intervention feasibility: Satisfaction with treatment (qualitative)

  Post-intervention (T3)

• Change from pre-intervention throughout the intervention to post-intervention and follow-up in well-being

  Pre-intervention (T1), intervention (T2), post-intervention (T3) and follow-up (T4)

• Change from pre-intervention to post-intervention and follow-up in domain-specific recovery

  Pre-intervention (T1), post-intervention (T3) and follow-up (T4)

Study Arms (1)

RETELL

EXPERIMENTAL

Narrative therapy to support personal recovery, delivered individually over 8-12 sessions.

Behavioral: Narrative therapy

Interventions

Narrative therapy BEHAVIORAL

The intervention is structured around 4 central tasks focusing on different aspects of narrative repair. Task 1: Introduction to life story exploration and building alliance. Task 2: Explore and process the impact of mental illness on identity, externalizing negative narratives, and making sense of emotional responses such as guilt, grief, or shame. Task 3: Identify positive identity conclusions (e.g., strengths, values, skills) from past or current life experiences, and support their integration into the personal narrative. Task 4: Support the imagining of a realistic and hopeful future narrative, grounded in insights of previous sessions. Tasks 1-4 are addressed in a total of 8-12 sessions, depending on the specific user needs. Sessions will have an app. duration of 45-60 mins and will be delivered by the PI who is a trained therapist and psychologist (MSc. Psych.), receiving ongoing supervision. The intervention manual will be made freely available in relation to study publication.

Also known as: Recovery in Telling Life Stories (RETELL)

RETELL

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 65 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• 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

You may not qualify if:

• 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.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Aarhus: lead

Study Sites (1)

Aarhus Univerity

Aarhus C, 8000, Denmark

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Thomsen, D. K., et al. (2023). Storying Mental Illness and Personal Recovery. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

  BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Schizophrenia; Personality Disorders; Compulsive Personality Disorder; Anxiety Disorders; Depressive Disorder; Combat Disorders; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Feeding and Eating Disorders; Bipolar Disorder; Asperger Syndrome; Mental Disorders

Interventions

Narrative Therapy; Salvage Therapy

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders; Mood Disorders; Stress Disorders, Traumatic; Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders; Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Signs and Symptoms, Digestive; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Bipolar and Related Disorders; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Psychotherapy; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities; Therapeutics

Study Officials

• Dorthe K. Thomsen, PhD

  University of Aarhus

  STUDY CHAIR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator ,Postdoc, PhD

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 4, 2025
• First Posted: July 24, 2025
• Study Start: July 21, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): April 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 1, 2027
• Last Updated: June 4, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

DK (1)