Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Sep 11, 2025
Date Accepted: Aug 26, 2026
The STORY MINE digital recovery narrative intervention for personal recovery in mental health care: a pilot randomized controlled trial
ABSTRACT
Background:
Hope and confidence support personal recovery by helping individuals with mental illness to rediscover meaning, enhance social connections, and build fulfilling lives. Recovery narrative interventions might help to promote these processes in people with mental illness.
Objective:
This pilot study evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of a novel digital intervention, based on hopeful recovery narratives (STORY MINE), to support personal recovery in service users receiving specialized mental health care.
Methods:
Twenty-eight participants were randomly assigned to intervention (STORY MINE access for 12 weeks) or control (care as usual). Feasibility and acceptability were assessed via usage data, evaluation questions embedded in the intervention, and data collected at baseline and post-intervention, using validated questionnaires on mental health confidence, hope, self-stigma, and personal recovery.
Results:
Most participants rated STORY MINE as feasible and acceptable (7.7/10), although perceived recognition was mixed, and some technical barriers were reported by participants. Overall usage of narratives was low (2.77 average active logins per participant). Nevertheless, the majority of participants reported positive impact, such as increased meaning-making, inspiration, and connectedness to the narratives. Some reported STORY MINE contributed to their recovery process (e.g. narratives provided practical tips and evoked meaning-making, and more positive self-evaluation). One participant reported narratives triggered distressing memories. Initial small (mental health confidence, hope, self-stigma) to medium (personal recovery) negative effect sizes were observed, which disappeared after excluding two outliers due to a mental health crisis.
Conclusions:
STORY MINE appears feasible and acceptable as a supplement to routine care, but refinements are recommended to improve adherence, safety, relevance, and accessibility. A larger trial is warranted.
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