{"id":2417,"date":"2025-10-07T10:33:38","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T10:33:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/recasas.org\/?p=2417"},"modified":"2025-10-07T10:34:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T10:34:10","slug":"exploring-the-power-threat-meaning-framework-a-reading-journey-with-recasas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/recasas.org\/en\/2025\/10\/07\/exploring-the-power-threat-meaning-framework-a-reading-journey-with-recasas\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring the Power Threat Meaning Framework \u2013 A Reading Journey with RECASAS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"465\" data-end=\"857\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">In recent years, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bps.org.uk\/member-networks\/division-clinical-psychology\/power-threat-meaning-framework\"><em data-start=\"486\" data-end=\"525\">Power Threat Meaning Framework (PTMF)<\/em> <\/a>\u2014 developed by Lucy Johnstone and Mary Boyle for the British Psychological Society \u2014 has opened up a new conversation about how we understand emotional distress.<\/span><br data-start=\"687\" data-end=\"690\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Instead of viewing distress as an illness within individuals, the PTMF invites us to see it as an intelligible response to experiences of power, threat, and meaning.<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"859\" data-end=\"1211\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">At RECASAS, we feel deeply connected to this way of thinking. It reflects the values we live by: resilience, empowerment, and self-determination through creativity and community.<\/span><br data-start=\"1037\" data-end=\"1040\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">That\u2019s why we are beginning a shared reading journey through the PTMF \u2014 to learn, reflect, and imagine how its ideas can come alive in writing, art, and peer-led spaces.<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1213\" data-end=\"1567\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Below you\u2019ll find our eight-part reading plan. Each session focuses on one part of the book and includes a few guiding questions to inspire reflection and conversation.<\/span><br data-start=\"1381\" data-end=\"1384\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Whether you read with us, with friends, or on your own, we invite you to approach this journey not as study, but as exploration \u2014 a way to rethink what it means to heal and connect.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 data-start=\"1574\" data-end=\"1619\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #008000;\"><strong data-start=\"1581\" data-end=\"1617\">RECASAS Exploratory Reading Plan<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"1620\" data-end=\"1693\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em data-start=\"1620\" data-end=\"1691\">Based on The Power Threat Meaning Framework (Johnstone &amp; Boyle, 2018)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1695\" data-end=\"1821\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong data-start=\"1695\" data-end=\"1712\">Overall goal:<\/strong><\/span><br data-start=\"1712\" data-end=\"1715\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">To explore how the PTMF can inform creative, peer-led, and nonclinical approaches to emotional distress.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 data-start=\"1828\" data-end=\"1873\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #ff6600;\">Session 1 \u2013 Introduction &amp; Overview<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p data-start=\"1874\" data-end=\"2028\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong data-start=\"1874\" data-end=\"1886\">Reading:<\/strong> Document Summary + Introduction (pp. 5\u201318)<\/span><br data-start=\"1929\" data-end=\"1932\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong data-start=\"1932\" data-end=\"1942\">Focus:<\/strong> Why the PTMF was created, the paradigm shift away from diagnosis.<\/span><br data-start=\"2008\" data-end=\"2011\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong data-start=\"2011\" data-end=\"2026\">Reflection:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"2029\" data-end=\"2240\">\n<li data-start=\"2029\" data-end=\"2074\">\n<p data-start=\"2031\" data-end=\"2074\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">What resonates most with your experience?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2075\" data-end=\"2155\">\n<p data-start=\"2077\" data-end=\"2155\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">How does this framework challenge traditional ideas of illness and recovery?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2156\" data-end=\"2240\">\n<p data-start=\"2158\" data-end=\"2240\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">What would it feel like to walk into a RECASAS space shaped by these principles?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 data-start=\"2242\" data-end=\"2297\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Session 2 \u2013 Problems of Psychiatric Diagnosis<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p data-start=\"2298\" data-end=\"2425\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong data-start=\"2298\" data-end=\"2310\">Reading:<\/strong> Chapter 1 (pp. 19\u201336)<\/span><br data-start=\"2332\" data-end=\"2335\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong data-start=\"2335\" data-end=\"2345\">Focus:<\/strong> The limits of diagnosis and the role of language and power.<\/span><br data-start=\"2405\" data-end=\"2408\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong data-start=\"2408\" data-end=\"2423\">Reflection:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"2426\" data-end=\"2545\">\n<li data-start=\"2426\" data-end=\"2491\">\n<p data-start=\"2428\" data-end=\"2491\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">How have labels shaped people\u2019s stories \u2014 including your own?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2492\" data-end=\"2545\">\n<p data-start=\"2494\" data-end=\"2545\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">What might a post-diagnostic language sound like?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 data-start=\"2547\" data-end=\"2608\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #ff6600;\">Session 3 \u2013 Philosophical and Conceptual Principles<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p data-start=\"2609\" data-end=\"2746\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong data-start=\"2609\" data-end=\"2621\">Reading:<\/strong> Chapter 2 (pp. 37\u201374)<\/span><br data-start=\"2643\" data-end=\"2646\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong data-start=\"2646\" data-end=\"2656\">Focus:<\/strong> Beyond the DSM mindset; reclaiming meaning, agency, and relationship.<\/span><br data-start=\"2726\" data-end=\"2729\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong data-start=\"2729\" data-end=\"2744\">Reflection:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"2747\" data-end=\"2846\">\n<li data-start=\"2747\" data-end=\"2786\">\n<p data-start=\"2749\" data-end=\"2786\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">What does \u201cagency\u201d mean in healing?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2787\" data-end=\"2846\">\n<p data-start=\"2789\" data-end=\"2846\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">How can RECASAS embody a different view of being human?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 data-start=\"2848\" data-end=\"2891\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #ff6600;\">Session 4 \u2013 Meaning and Narrative<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p data-start=\"2892\" data-end=\"3000\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong data-start=\"2892\" data-end=\"2904\">Reading:<\/strong> Chapter 3 (pp. 75\u201391)<\/span><br data-start=\"2926\" data-end=\"2929\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong data-start=\"2929\" data-end=\"2939\">Focus:<\/strong> Culture, shame, and the stories we tell.<\/span><br data-start=\"2980\" data-end=\"2983\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong data-start=\"2983\" data-end=\"2998\">Reflection:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"3001\" data-end=\"3103\">\n<li data-start=\"3001\" data-end=\"3053\">\n<p data-start=\"3003\" data-end=\"3053\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Whose stories are heard, and whose are silenced?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"3054\" data-end=\"3103\">\n<p data-start=\"3056\" data-end=\"3103\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">How can storytelling and art restore meaning?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 data-start=\"3105\" data-end=\"3145\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #ff6600;\">Session 5 \u2013 The Social Context<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p data-start=\"3146\" data-end=\"3263\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong data-start=\"3146\" data-end=\"3158\">Reading:<\/strong> Chapter 4 (pp. 92\u2013151)<\/span><br data-start=\"3181\" data-end=\"3184\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong data-start=\"3184\" data-end=\"3194\">Focus:<\/strong> The role of adversity, inequality, and ideology.<\/span><br data-start=\"3243\" data-end=\"3246\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong data-start=\"3246\" data-end=\"3261\">Reflection:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"3264\" data-end=\"3366\">\n<li data-start=\"3264\" data-end=\"3314\">\n<p data-start=\"3266\" data-end=\"3314\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">How do power and threat operate in your world?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"3315\" data-end=\"3366\">\n<p data-start=\"3317\" data-end=\"3366\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Why does society need initiatives like RECASAS?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 data-start=\"3368\" data-end=\"3409\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #ff6600;\">Session 6 \u2013 The Role of Biology<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p data-start=\"3410\" data-end=\"3511\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong data-start=\"3410\" data-end=\"3422\">Reading:<\/strong> Chapter 5 (pp. 152\u2013181)<\/span><br data-start=\"3446\" data-end=\"3449\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong data-start=\"3449\" data-end=\"3459\">Focus:<\/strong> Biology as mediator, not cause.<\/span><br data-start=\"3491\" data-end=\"3494\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong data-start=\"3494\" data-end=\"3509\">Reflection:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"3512\" data-end=\"3623\">\n<li data-start=\"3512\" data-end=\"3579\">\n<p data-start=\"3514\" data-end=\"3579\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">How can we honor the body without reducing distress to disease?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"3580\" data-end=\"3623\">\n<p data-start=\"3582\" data-end=\"3623\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">What does embodied healing mean to you?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 data-start=\"3625\" data-end=\"3682\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Session 7 \u2013 Describing Patterns within the PTMF<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p data-start=\"3683\" data-end=\"3796\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong data-start=\"3683\" data-end=\"3695\">Reading:<\/strong> Chapter 6 (pp. 182\u2013254)<\/span><br data-start=\"3719\" data-end=\"3722\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong data-start=\"3722\" data-end=\"3732\">Focus:<\/strong> Power \u2192 Threat \u2192 Meaning \u2192 Threat Response.<\/span><br data-start=\"3776\" data-end=\"3779\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong data-start=\"3779\" data-end=\"3794\">Reflection:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"3797\" data-end=\"3920\">\n<li data-start=\"3797\" data-end=\"3860\">\n<p data-start=\"3799\" data-end=\"3860\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Which of the four PTMF questions speaks to you most deeply?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"3861\" data-end=\"3920\">\n<p data-start=\"3863\" data-end=\"3920\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">How could RECASAS integrate these into creative groups?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 data-start=\"3922\" data-end=\"3956\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #ff6600;\">Session 8 \u2013 Ways Forward<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p data-start=\"3957\" data-end=\"4084\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong data-start=\"3957\" data-end=\"3969\">Reading:<\/strong> Chapter 8 (pp. 262\u2013317)<\/span><br data-start=\"3993\" data-end=\"3996\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong data-start=\"3996\" data-end=\"4006\">Focus:<\/strong> From theory to action \u2014 peer work, policy, and community.<\/span><br data-start=\"4064\" data-end=\"4067\" \/><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong data-start=\"4067\" data-end=\"4082\">Reflection:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"4085\" data-end=\"4209\">\n<li data-start=\"4085\" data-end=\"4148\">\n<p data-start=\"4087\" data-end=\"4148\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">What could \u201cways forward\u201d look like for RECASAS and beyond?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"4149\" data-end=\"4209\">\n<p data-start=\"4151\" data-end=\"4209\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">How might you personally help bring these ideas to life?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 data-start=\"4216\" data-end=\"4247\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; color: #008000;\">After the Reading Journey<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"4248\" data-end=\"4472\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">At the end of this journey, we invite participants to create something inspired by the PTMF questions \u2014 a short text, poem, drawing, or photo. These creative responses can become part of our shared storytelling at RECASAS.<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"4474\" data-end=\"4629\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">If you would like to read the original publication, it\u2019s freely available here: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bps.org.uk\/member-networks\/division-clinical-psychology\/power-threat-meaning-framework\">https:\/\/www.bps.org.uk\/member-networks\/division-clinical-psychology\/power-threat-meaning-framework<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In recent years, the Power Threat Meaning Framework (PTMF) \u2014 developed by Lucy Johnstone and Mary Boyle for the British Psychological Society \u2014 has opened up a new conversation about how we understand emotional distress.Instead of viewing distress as an illness within individuals, the PTMF invites us to see it as an intelligible response to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2418,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"subtitle":"","format":"standard","override":[{"template":"2","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"floatbottom","share_float_style":"share-normal","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_popup_post":"1","number_popup_post":"3","show_author_box":"1","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-715","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[39],"class_list":["post-2417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-program","category-unkategorisiert"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/recasas.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/recasas.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/recasas.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recasas.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recasas.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2417"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/recasas.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2420,"href":"https:\/\/recasas.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2417\/revisions\/2420"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recasas.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/recasas.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recasas.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recasas.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2417"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recasas.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}