Personal narratives and the pursuit of purpose and possibility in psychosis: directions for developing recovery-oriented treatments

ABSTRACT Introduction The experience of psychosis involves changes in an individual’s sense of self and their understanding of others and the world around them. Studying life narratives and narrative identity offers one way to better understand these changes. Areas covered Narratives of persons with psychosis display alterations in their themes, structures, and processes. These narratives often portray the person as possessing relatively little sense of agency, without meaningful connections to others, and often describe events in a negative emotional tone. The structure of these narratives often lacks temporal cohesion, unfolding in a disjointed manner. The overall structure and content of narratives further appear to struggle to respond to experience, suggesting that individuals with psychosis may have difficulty incorporating new information into their narrative, leading to a lack of narrative evolution. This body of research illustrates how psychosis reflects the interruption of an unfolding life in which sense of self is compromised and cannot be understood as a collection of symptoms and skill deficits. Expert opinion There is a need for treatment to address disruptions in personal narratives among persons with psychosis to promote a sense of purpose, possibility and meaning. As our understanding of psychosis continues to evolve and we emphasize first-person life stories, the authors believe that stigma in providers will decrease and the importance of subjective recovery will be further revealed.