Can rewriting your life story improve mental health? small trial tests new therapy

NCT ID NCT07082777

Symptom relief Sponsor: University of Aarhus Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This study tests a therapy called RETELL that helps people with severe mental illness explore and reshape their life stories. The goal is to improve personal recovery, quality of life, and identity. Twenty adults with conditions like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or PTSD will take part in 8-12 sessions. The study mainly checks if the therapy is feasible and acceptable, not whether it works for sure.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance: narrative therapy (storytelling sessions)
What this could lead to: If it works, this could offer a new way to help people with severe mental illness feel better about themselves and their lives, even if symptoms remain.
What could go wrong: This is a very small, early feasibility study with only 20 participants. It is not designed to prove the therapy works, only that it can be tested. Results may not apply to everyone.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

About 20 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Jul 2025

Expected to finish

Apr 2027

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 to 65 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Adults between the ages of 18 and 65 years * A self-reported principal diagnosis of one or more of the following: schizophrenia (F20), bipolar disorder (F31), personality disorders (F60), obsessive-compulsive disorder (F42), anxiety disorders (F41), recurrent depressive disorder (F33), eating disorders (F50), hyperkinetic disorders (F90), post-traumatic stress disorder (F43.1), Asperger syndrome (F84.5) * Not in full recovery (Brief INSPIRE-O \< 50) * Danish language proficiency * Medication stabilized (i.e., same type and dosage for a minimum of 8 weeks) * Ability and willingness to give informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * Self-reported diagnosis of mental retardation (F70-79) and/or organic mental disorder (F00-09) * Psychiatric symptoms, thoughts of self-harm and/or substance abuse of self-reported severity which are likely to prevent one or all of the following: attendance at scheduled sessions, completion of questionnaires before, during and after the intervention, meaningful engagement in the therapeutic process * Psychiatric hospitalization in the past 4 weeks * Prior conviction of violent crime * Currently homeless * Currently in psychotherapy initiated within the past 6 months.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

anxiety disorder attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, inattentive type autism spectrum disorder 1 bipolar disorder combat disorder depressive disorder eating disorder Feeding and Eating Disorders major depressive disorder obsessive-compulsive disorder obsessive-compulsive personality disorder personality disorder Personality Disorders post-traumatic stress disorder psychiatric disorder schizophrenia

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Anxiety disorders Aspergers syndrome Bipolar disorders Eating disorders Hyperkinetic disorders Obsessive compulsive disorder Personality disorders PTSD - post traumatic stress disorder Recurrent depressive disorder Schizophrenia disorders

Can rewriting your life story improve mental health? small trial tests new therapy

What the study statuses mean