ReCo2: Re-Co-Very Through Co-Writing

Re-Co-Very Through Co-Writing: The Implementation of a Collaborative Writing Approach in Mental Health Care

The ReCo2 project, supported by the PRIN (Progetti di Ricerca di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale) program and funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR), focuses on a specific and still relatively unexplored practice in mental health care: co-writing. This term refers to a collaborative writing process between clinician and patient, aimed at jointly narrating the patient’s lived experience and supporting their recovery. The emphasis is not on the final text itself, but on the shared process, which fosters mutual listening and joint reflection, also supporting the redefinition of traditional roles between mental health professionals and patients.

The project pursues a dual goal: on one hand, to investigate the theoretical and ethical foundations of co-writing through scientific literature and existing practices; on the other, to directly experiment with this approach in clinical settings — particularly in complex cases such as treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS).

The project unfolds in four main phases:

1. Reviewing the literature on co-writing, identifying its key components and ethical implications.
2. Exploring professional attitudes towards co-writing, including required skills, possible resistance, and relevant ethical considerations.
3. Conducting pilot co-writing sessions with patients diagnosed with TRS, collecting and analysing the resulting narratives.
4. Training mental health professionals, through a dedicated course that combines theoretical insights with practical activities aimed at integrating co-writing into clinical practice.

The Role of ISTC-CNR in the Exploration of Co-Writing Practices within Mental Health Services

Within the ReCo2 project, the ISTC-CNR is primarily responsible for activities related to the first objective: the review of existing literature on the use of co-writing in mental health contexts.

This will be carried out through a scoping review designed to:

• Map the current evidence on how co-writing is used to support mental health care;
• Identify the key components of co-writing interventions, which will inform the structure and content of the ReCo2 training program;
• Synthesize and disseminate findings to provide researchers, practitioners, service users, and families with a clear picture of the current state of knowledge in the field.

The results of the review will be presented in an internal webinar to the entire research team and subsequently submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

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