List of Figures; List of Tables; Acknowledgements; 1. Introducing the book; 2. The science of mental illness; 3. Vulnerability, stress, and burden in mental illness; 4. Recovery and mental illness; 5. Narrative identity; 6. Narrative identity, illness, and well-being; 7. How did we collect and analyze different life stories?; 8. Overview of narrative identity themes from the initial analyses; 9. Relationship themes in narrative identity; 10. Self themes in narrative identity; 11. Functional level themes in narrative identity; 12. Treatment themes in narrative identity; 13. Summary and synthesis; 14. Understanding the interplay between narrative identity and mental illness – a framework; 15. Tools for narrative repair; Conclusion; Appendix 1; Appendix 2; Appendix 3; Appendix 4; Appendix 5; Appendix 6; Appendix 7; Appendix 8; References; Index.
An exploration of the interplay between mental illness and narrative identity, offering pathways to personal recovery.
Dorthe Kirkegaard Thomsen is a professor of psychology at Aarhus University, Denmark. She is a prominent scholar in narrative identity, which she has studied extensively over the past decade. She has authored more than 60 scientific papers and has received several grants and awards in recognition of her work. Tine Holm completed her PhD on life stories in schizophrenia, then received funding to examine trauma within psychiatric settings particularly in relation to force treatment. In parallel with her research, she works as a clinical psychologist at an outpatient unit for individuals with severe mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorder. Rikke Amalie Agergaard Jensen received her PhD in psychology in 2020 from Aarhus University, Denmark. As an assistant professor at the University of Southern Denmark, she continues to study stories about the lived experience of mental illness. Specifically, she concentrates on children of parents with mental illness and family stories to aid the development of family-centered treatment and to mitigate social inequalities and stigmatization in mental healthcare. Majse Lind is an assistant professor at Aalborg University, Denmark. She is a prominent scholar in research on life stories and psychopathology, particularly in the subarea of personality disorders, and has received several awards for this work. Anne Mai Pedersen received her MSc in psychology from Aarhus University, Denmark, where she is now pursuing a PhD degree. Her primary field of research is life stories in people with mental and somatic illness, with a focus on narrative identity in psychopathology and specifically in bipolar disorder.
'Through a broad and expansive overview, beautifully interweaving
research findings with individuals' own stories, they provide a
highly readable and articulate conception of the ways in which
narrative identity is central to understanding the causes,
consequences, and lived experience of mental illness. With great
deftness, they present a counter-narrative of cultural conceptions
of mental illness that help the reader to understand the complexity
of living a meaningful life in the midst of mental illness.' Robyn
Fivush, Emory University, USA
'This new work comprehensively tackles directly issues of narrative
identity, mental illness, and personal recovery. It delves deeply
into how persons make personal sense of the challenges which
surround mental illness, as well as their own emergent path to a
fully meaningful life. While it reminds us of these neglected
issues, it also breaks new ground, bringing scientific inquiry to
these deeply subjective aspects of human experience.' Paul H.
Lysaker, IUPUI School of Science, USA
'Psychiatric illness is a thief in the night, upending our lives by
stealing the very stories we live by. In this groundbreaking study
of narrative identity and psychopathology, Dorthe Thomsen and her
colleagues reveal the horrific costs incurred, as well as the
occasional benefits, by examining how people afflicted with major
mental disorders make narrative sense of their lived experience.
Blending rigorous scholarship with deep empathy, the authors chart
the many variations on the theme of psychological suffering that
appear in first-person accounts, and they show that hope for a
better life lies in narrative repair – that is, in the prospect of
re-writing our life stories to recover what has been taken away
from us, and thereby re-affirming personal wellbeing and human
connection.' Dan P. McAdams, The Henry Wade Rogers Professor of
Psychology, Northwestern University, USA
'This elegantly written and scientifically sound book shows that
narrative psychology provides unique insights into mental illness
not captured by traditional medical and psychological research,
covering themes that humans hold most dear: themes of loss of time,
loss of future, loss of self, loss of relationships, and loss of
life. This timely book not only provides a moving account of lived
experience of mental illness, but offers the methodological tools
to study it further, with the ultimate hope of improving our
treatments, which are, admittedly, in need of reform. A must-read
book for clinicians, researchers, and anyone interested in
understanding mental illness from the inside out.' Carla Sharp,
University of Houston, USA
'This is an important book. The focus on life stories aligns with
the global movement toward positioning experiential knowledge of
individuals living with mental health issues at the center of
health and social care systems. Narrative approaches will become
increasingly important in mental health care, and this book makes
an original contribution which has wide relevance to anyone trying
to support individuals experiencing mental health issues. I
thoroughly recommend it.' Mike Slade, University of Nottingham, UK
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