Storytelling and its role in alleviating suffering in psychiatric care

Abstract: Background: This study explores the use of storytelling and patient narrative in mental health care. The focus is how the use of storytelling can reduce suffering and support the recovery process for individuals with psychiatric illnesses. The objective is to review research on the role of storytelling in promoting health, mitigating suffering, and fostering recovery in healthcare from a caring perspective. The study aims to answer the question of whether storytelling can reduce suffering in patient care. Design and Method: This study is a systematic literature review of qualitative studies that utilized the method meta-synthesis and thematic analysis. The authors searched for relevant articles, screened them based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, and extracted data using an inductive approach. A total of 15 articles were chosen, and the extracted data were analyzed to identify common themes and subthemes. Results: The main themes that emerged in the analysis of the fifteen articles were suffering, lifestory and the caring relationship and the subthemes were shame and stigma, loss of self and isolation, hope, meaning, growth, and recovery. Conclusion: A significant finding from the study is that the caring relationship between the nurse and the patient is important in order to provide a supportive context for the rewriting of the patient's life story, which in turn can contribute to the relief of suffering.