1. A Meaningful Focus: Investigating the Impact of Involvement in a Participatory Video Program on the Recovery of Participants With Severe Mental Illness.
- Author
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Whitley, Rob, Sitter, Kathleen C., Adamson, Gavin, and Carmichael, Victoria
- Subjects
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PATIENT participation , *EVALUATION of human services programs , *INDIVIDUAL development , *CONVALESCENCE , *SELF-evaluation , *RESEARCH methodology , *AUDIOVISUAL materials , *INTERVIEWING , *SOCIAL stigma , *EXPERIENCE , *PATIENTS' attitudes , *QUALITATIVE research , *ABILITY , *TRAINING , *REHABILITATION of people with mental illness , *LIFE , *DISABILITIES , *RESEARCH funding , *PEOPLE with disabilities , *PATIENT education , *THEMATIC analysis , *METROPOLITAN areas , *MENTAL illness , *GROUP process - Abstract
Objective: The overall aim of the present paper is to elicit the subjective perceptions and experiences of people with Severe Mental Illness (SMI) involved in a Participatory Video project, with a focus on self-reported impact on recovery. There are 2 subobjectives, namely (a) to document which specific aspects (if any) of Participatory Video project participation are reported to positively influence recovery; and (b) to assess the impact of project involvement on specific dimensions of recovery. Method: In this project, 3 workgroups of people with Severe Mental Illness met approximately twice per week over a 2-year period to make and disseminate educational videos about mental illness. Workgroup participants (n = 20) took part in an in-depth semistructured qualitative interview at project end to understand their experience in the project, especially impact on recovery. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis techniques. Results: At completion, participants had made 26 videos and organized 49 community screenings reaching over 1,500 people. Participants reported that regular involvement in this project fostered their recovery in a variety of ways, imparting multiple psychosocial benefits, which are summarized in 5 themes: (a) skill-acquisition, (b) platform and voice, (c) connectedness, (d) a meaningful focus, and (e) personal development. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: Participatory Video is a powerful group intervention which positively benefits workgroup participants. Importantly, results overlap with other research indicating that grassroots-produced mental health themed videos can educate viewers and reduce public stigma. As such, psychiatric rehabilitation organizations should consider initiating similar projects in their own locales. Impact and Implications: Participatory Video is an innovative group program where marginalized people get together to produce documentary-type videos about their lives, which are then screened at community venues. This study found that regular involvement in a successful Participatory Video program helped foster the recovery of participants with severe mental illness. This suggests that Participatory Video is a recovery-oriented intervention, which could be initiated by mental health services and peer support organizations elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
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