SynthesisPloS one2019
Characteristics of mental health recovery narratives: Systematic review and narrative synthesis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05351645 (Digital Narrative Bibliotherapy as a Scalable Intervention for Suicidal Thoughts), which is not on this map. Cited by 101 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Digital Narrative Bibliotherapy as a Scalable Intervention for Suicidal Thoughts: A Randomized Controlled Trial (Testing Whether Selected Blog Posts Can Improve Well-being)
Who cites it
101 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A Systematic Review of the Use of Blogs and Vlogs as Self-Expressors for People with Serious and Common Mental Illness.The Psychiatric quarterly · 2026Pooled it
- The health-promoting experiences of storytellers in group-based digital storytelling workshops: a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies.Frontiers in digital health · 2025Pooled it
- Uses and Misuses of Recorded Mental Health Lived Experience Narratives in Healthcare and Community Settings: Systematic Review.Schizophrenia bulletin · 2022Pooled it
- Characteristics of alcohol recovery narratives: Systematic review and narrative synthesis.PloS one · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Factors influencing the implementation of mental health recovery into services: a systematic mixed studies review.Systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Recovery From Severe Mental Health Problems: A Systematic Review of Service User and Informal Caregiver Perspectives.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of the Characteristics and Efficacy of Recovery Training for Mental Health Staff: Implications for Supported Accommodation Services.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Not the story you want? Assessing the fit of a conceptual framework characterising mental health recovery narratives.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2020Pooled it
- Mental Health Recovery Narratives and Their Impact on Recipients: Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis.Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie · 2019Pooled it
- Narratives of recovery from persistent fatigue: a stepwise learning process.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Ethical and Legal Considerations in the Collection and Analysis of Mental Health Lived Experience Narratives: Reflections on 4 Case Studies of Research Practice.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Peer Support Workers in Mental Health Care: Plural Positionings Beyond Transformation and Assimilation Dichotomy.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026Article
- How to Tell a Recovery Story 'Professionally'? Issues Related to the Transformation of Personal Stories During a Training for Becoming a Peer Support Worker.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026Article
- Recovery as an intersubjective process: an autoethnography of experiential knowledge in mental health.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Methods of Engaging Interest-Holders in Healthcare Evidence Syntheses: A Scoping Review.Cochrane evidence synthesis and methods · 2026Review
- Opioid Use Disorder Cascade of Care Among People Who Experienced Perinatal Incarceration: A Qualitative Study.Substance use & addiction journal · 2025Article
- Identifying therapeutic characteristics of digital social media narratives about suicide: a mixed methods investigation.Npj mental health research · 2025Article
- Measuring Recovery Using the Individual Recovery Outcomes Counter: A Cross-Sectional Multi-Center Study on Structural Validity in Dutch Mental Health Care.International journal of mental health nursing · 2025Article
- Article
41 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundNarratives of recovery from mental health distress have played a central role in the establishment of the recovery paradigm within mental health policy and practice. As use of recovery narratives increases within services, it is critical to understand how they have been characterised, and what may be missing from their characterisation thus far. The aim of this review was to synthesise published typologies in order to develop a conceptual framework characterising mental health recovery narratives.
methodA systematic review was conducted of published literature on the characteristics of mental health recovery narratives. Narrative synthesis involved identifying characteristics and organising them into dimensions and types; and subgroup analysis based on study quality, narrator involvement in analysis, diagnosis of psychosis and experience of trauma. The synthesis was informed by consultation with a Lived Experience Advisory Panel and an academic panel. The review protocol was pre-registered (Prospero CRD42018090188).
results8951 titles, 366 abstracts and 121 full-text articles published January 2000-July 2018 were screened, of which 45 studies analysing 629 recovery narratives were included. A conceptual framework of mental health recovery narratives was developed, comprising nine dimensions (Genre; Positioning; Emotional Tone; Relationship with Recovery; Trajectory; Use of Turning Points; Narrative Sequence; Protagonists; and Use of Metaphors), each containing between two and six types. Subgroup analysis indicated all dimensions were present across most subgroups, with Turning Points particularly evident in trauma-related studies.
conclusionsRecovery narratives are diverse and multidimensional. They may be non-linear and reject coherence. To a greater extent than illness narratives, they incorporate social, political and rights aspects. Approaches to supporting development of recovery narratives should expand rather than reduce available choices. Research into the narratives of more diverse populations is needed. The review supports trauma-informed approaches, and highlights the need to understand and support post-traumatic growth for people experiencing mental health issues.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.