Using the Power Threat Meaning Framework in a Self-Help Group of People with Experience of Mental and Emotional Distress

Abstract

This article describes how the Power Threat Meaning Framework (PTMF) has been used by the SHIFT (Self Help Inspiring Forward Thinking) recovery community of people with direct experience of mental and emotional distress based in Portsmouth, UK. We met weekly in a peer-led group to read and discuss sections of the PTMF Overview and applied the ideas to our own lives. We each completed the template diagram from the PTMF Guided Discussion and shared our life stories with each other. We began to develop a new perspective: rather than seeing ourselves as abnormal and disordered – which had left us feeling hopeless and blaming ourselves for our difficulties – we began to see our ‘symptoms’ as understandable reactions to abnormal and threatening life circumstances. This was a very therapeutic process as we felt our experiences were recognized, validated and understood and we began to feel more hopeful about the future. In the rest of the article we discuss other things we learned from this process, illustrating this with examples from three group members. We also make some suggestions about how the PTMF could be made more user-friendly for people experiencing mental and emotional distress.