How do recorded mental health recovery narratives create connection and improve hopefulness?

Background Mental health recovery narratives are an active ingredient of recovery-oriented interventions such as peer support. Recovery narratives can create connection and hope, but there is limited evidence on the predictors of impact. Aims The aim of this study was to identify characteristics of the narrator, narrative content and participant which predict the short-term impact of recovery narratives on participants. Method Independent studies were conducted in an experimental (n = 40) and a clinical setting (n = 13). In both studies, participants with mental health problems received recorded recovery narratives and rated impact on hopefulness and connection. Predictive characteristics were identified using multi-level modelling. Results The experimental study found that narratives portraying a narrator as living well with mental health problems that is intermediate between no and full recovery, generated higher self-rated levels of hopefulness. Participants from ethnic minority backgrounds had lower levels of connection with narrators compared to participants from a white background, potentially due to reduced visibility of a narrator's diversity characteristics. Conclusions Narratives describing partial but not complete recovery and matching on ethnicity may lead to a higher impact. Having access to narratives portraying a range of narrator characteristics to maximise the possibility of a beneficial impact on connection and hopefulness.