SELF NARRATIVE FRAMING: THE EFFECTS OF SYSTEMATIC WRITTEN REFLECTIONS ON PERSONAL PROGRESS IN 12-STEP FACILITATION THERAPY

Abstract

Clients receiving twelve-step facilitation therapy in a residential setting were asked to complete, in the third person, a weekly evaluation of progress based on reading personal "Feelings" diaries they had written on a daily basis over a period of one week starting three weeks previously. All 12 patients who had been in treatment for four weeks prior to the intervention took part in the study. Controlled analyses of subsequent narrative content of the diaries indicated no change in focus, temporal orientation or referent, but did show a marked increase in their positivity. This was verified by a computer analysis of positive feelings words. The intervention also appeared to bring about a decrease in the consistency of feelings about personal progress. The study suggests that clients who responded positively to the intervention tended to do well in recovery.