Covid-19 and the politics of hope: A comparative analysis of Greek and Ecuadorian letters from a desired post-pandemic future

Covid-19 forced changes in everyday life upon large sections of the world's population, with lockdowns and social distancing measures effecting conditions of work and leisure for billions of people. In this context our research created a space in which people living in countries in Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Africa were invited to imagine what the future could look like - beyond the pandemic - by writing a Letter from the Future. In this paper we examine what these letters show about one particular relationship between the present and the future: a relationship of hope. In the context of major crises, and the complex experiences of loss they involve, the possibilities for hope becomes an urgent issue. We analyse a selection of responses from participants between 18 and 35 years-old, from Ecuador and Greece, to address two questions: (1) Do these letters express hope? (2) If so, in what ways is this hope political? Our answers to these questions have implications for understanding the nature, possibilities and politics of hope at times of crisis. They also have implications for futures studies: indicating the potential value of embedding the Letters from the Future method in a range of research contexts.

Addressing spiritual needs in palliative care: proposal for a narrative and interfaith spiritual care intervention for chaplaincy

Although many recognize the importance of addressing the spiritual domain in palliative care, empirically grounded interventions designed to alleviate spiritual needs for patients in palliative care are remarkably scarce. In this paper we argue that the development of such interventions for chaplains is important in order to improve spiritual care in a (post)secular and religiously plural context. We therefore propose an interfaith chaplain-led spiritual care intervention for home-based palliative care that addresses patients' spiritual needs. The intervention is based on elements of spiritual care interventions that have been investigated among other populations. Three important characteristics of the proposed intervention are (1) life review; (2) materiality, ritual and embodiment; and (3) imagination. The aim of this intervention is to improve palliative patients' spiritual wellbeing. It is anticipated that such a structured intervention could assist in improving spiritual care in palliative care.

Narrative Identity Reconstruction as Adaptive Growth During Mental Health Recovery: A Narrative Coaching Boardgame Approach

Objective

The purpose of this paper is to construct a conceptual framework for investigating the reconstruction of narrative identity in mental health recovery from a complexity perspective. This conceptual framework provides the foundation for developing a health boardgame to facilitate narrative identity reconstruction.

Methods

A selective integrative review of the theoretical and empirical literature relevant to narrative identity reconstruction in recovery was conducted. Sources included books, dissertations, internet resources, and professional journals.

Findings

The reviewed material provides a conceptual framework that offers an enriched understanding of narrative identity reconstruction in recovery as a process of adaptive growth. It identifies the Hero's Journey, the life story model of identity (LSMI), and intentional change theory (ITC) as particularly relevant in informing strategies for narrative identity reconstruction. The conceptual framework can be operationalized in a narrative coaching treatment approach using a boardgame.

Conclusion and Implications for Practice

In practice, mental health professionals could use the narrative coaching boardgame to facilitate people's adaptive change with a focus on building skills to reconstruct their preferred narrative identity and foster hope. Future research should explore what aspects of narrative identity and non-linear dynamic processes of change are most important in people's recovery narratives and in particular these processes can be assessed in response to the use of the boardgame.

Discourse After a Batterer Intervention Program: A Qualitative Analysis of "Letters From the Future"

This exploratory study employs discourse and narrative analysis to assess men's ( n = 45) responses to a writing assignment completed at the end of a solution-focused voluntary batterer intervention program. The study finds that the men primarily use the assignment to reassure themselves of their future success, defined through traditionally male paradigms. The narrative analysis then divides the letters according to type: Participants (22.7%) use a "transformative" discourse of behavior change and intimate partner violence (IPV)-sustaining discourse (18.2%), but the plurality (38.6%) use both simultaneously. The ideological conflict demonstrated in these responses highlights how IPV-sustaining discourse is embedded within broader sociocultural discursive structures.

Perspectives of future health in self and others: The moderating role of culture

People tend to perceive themselves more favourably than others, but the degree to which individuals exhibit this bias may be influenced by cultural upbringing. Korean (n = 271) and American (n = 503) participants were asked to evaluate current and future health expectations for themselves and others. Results showed that American participants rated their own future health more positively than others' future health, whereas Korean participants rated their own and others' future health similarly. Given its role in patient health behaviour, implications for creating context-sensitive interventions for future health expectations are discussed.

Wonderful Life: Exploring Wonder in Meaningful Moments

In this article, we bring the study of meaning together with the emerging field of study focusing on the emotions of wonder: wonder, enchantment, awe, and being moved. It is in meaningful moments that these two meet, and in our empirical study, we used the emotions of wonder as a lens to investigate meaningful moments. We applied a novel intervention, the Wonderful Life question, to elicit narratives of meaningful moments from 100 participants varying in age, profession, and social status. Using characteristics of wonder retrieved from the wonder literature to qualitatively analyze these narratives, we identified five types of meaningful moments: opening up to life, facing the precarity of life, celebrations, countering the negative, and familiar routines. The study deepens insight in the way meaning is discovered in different types of meaningful moments. It supports the premise that there is potential meaning in any moment in life, and the mind-set of wonder enabling the discovery of meaning. Finally, it pleads for the use of the Wonderful Life question as a means to elicit a wide spectrum of meaningful moments.

Narrative health psychology: once more unto the breach. Introduction

In this editorial, we position narrative health psychology as a variety of narrative psychology, a form of qualitative research in health psychology, and a psychological perspective that falls under the interdisciplinary term narrative health research. The aim of this positioning is to explore what are the most important features of the proposed approach and how they are relevant. We illustrate each positioning with the scope and diversity of narrative health psychology brought together in this special issue. Finally, we reflect on where narrative health psychology is now and how it could develop in the future.