Abstract
Objective: Accumulated evidence suggests that approximately one third of people with a serious mental illness (SMI) experience elevated self-stigma. Narrative enhancement and cognitive therapy (NECT) is a structured group-based intervention aimed to reduce self-stigma. The current study aims to examine the effectiveness of NECT. A quasi-experimental design. Design: Baseline and follow-up data were collected and outcomes were compared between 63 persons with SMI who participated in NECT and 56 persons who received treatment as usual. Results: The NECT treatment group showed significant (p < .05) reductions in self-stigma and increases in self-esteem, quality of life, and Hope-Agency scores between pre- and posttreatment assessments, compared with the control group. Conclusions: The current results provide preliminary support for the use of NECT as an effective treatment to reduce self-stigma and its implications for treatment and practice are discussed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 303-312 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Journal of Clinical Psychology |
| Volume | 70 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 2014 |
Keywords
- Recovery
- Self-stigma
- Serious mental illness
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
- Clinical Psychology