Conference Agenda

This article presents qualitative research on ten short narrative psychotherapy sessions and five group discussions. The study examined co-writing as a therapeutic approach for patients with drug-resistant schizophrenia. It examines the dominant narratives in collaborative writing sessions between therapist/researcher and patient, as well as the most conflictual narratives and the I-positions that express them. A reflexive thematic analysis combined with a descriptive phenomenological analysis was carried out to explore the most representative themes and the meanings, experiences, and life worlds of people with this diagnosis. Central to this process is the co-construction of a meta-position that can manage the various internal and external I-positions and facilitate collaboration while avoiding power imbalances between clinician and patient. Overall, co-writing emerges as a promising relational and meaning-building intervention in psychotherapy and mental health services. It fosters a collaborative and relational approach by reconfiguring the power dynamics between therapists and clients, creating a more equitable and shared meaning-building process. From a practical standpoint, co-writing necessitates revising the clinical and ethical approaches. Therapists must develop technical, ethical, and dialogical skills related to negotiating co-authorship, managing disagreements, and shared reflexivity.