# Relationship between personal recovery, autobiographical memory, and clinical recovery in people with mental illness in the acute phase

## TL;DR

The study shows that being able to recall specific autobiographical memories is linked to better personal recovery in people with mental illness.

## Contribution

It identifies autobiographical memory specificity as a novel predictor of personal recovery, independent of age, symptoms, or cognitive function.

## Key findings

- Higher autobiographical memory specificity predicts greater personal recovery.
- Those with high personal recovery were able to narrate their negative memories.
- Integrating negative episodes may facilitate personal recovery.

## Abstract

Narratives are important in psychiatric rehabilitation. People with a psychiatric diagnosis find it difficult to recall specific autobiographical memories of events that lasted less than a day. Although personal narratives play a central role in personal recovery, the factors influencing personal and clinical recovery, such as psychiatric symptoms and cognitive function, have not been fully explored. Therefore, this study examined the associations between personal recovery and autobiographical memory, age, psychiatric symptoms, and neurocognitive function.

The Self-Identified Stage of Recovery, Parts A and B (SISR-A, SISR-B), Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT), Japanese version of the Brief Assessment Scale of Schizophrenia Cognitive Function, and Brief Psychiatric Symptom Rating Scale were administered to 40 individuals with psychiatric disorders who were undergoing psychiatric rehabilitation.

A significant positive correlation was found between the total number of specific memories in the AMT and total SISR-B scores. A binary logistic regression analysis revealed that the total number of specific memories, especially high responsiveness to negative cue words, significantly predicted greater personal recovery. Age, psychiatric symptoms, and neurocognitive function did not significantly predict higher personal recovery.

In psychiatric rehabilitation, negative episodes should be treated with caution; however, they may also facilitate personal recovery.

•Higher autobiographical memory specificity predicts greater personal recovery.•Those with high personal recovery were able to narrate their negative memories.•Integrating negative episodes may facilitate personal recovery.

Higher autobiographical memory specificity predicts greater personal recovery.

Those with high personal recovery were able to narrate their negative memories.

Integrating negative episodes may facilitate personal recovery.