Re-owning Motherhood in Metacognitive Reflection and Insight Therapy (MERIT) with A Woman Diagnosed with Schizophrenia: Lessons from A Case Study

Mothers coping with a serious mental illness often face familial, social, and cultural barriers that challenge their identity as a mother and hinder their recovery process. Research has shown that enhancing a positive coherent multidimensional sense of self and sense of mastery promote recovery. To further explore this possibility, the current paper presents a course of therapy with a mother coping with schizophrenia. The therapist sought to facilitate recovery and a positive experience of motherhood by targeting the client’s sense of self and mastery within a framework of metacognitive reflection and insight therapy (MERIT), an intervention that targets these capacities. The case study demonstrates how MERIT can promote self-reflection of motherhood identity by exploring interactions between different parts of identity and can also enhance the ability to use reflective knowledge for effective coping.