Sovereign Authorship: A Model of Meaning-Making, Stance Selection and Affect Regulation

Abstract

Many individuals, especially adolescents experiencing chronic verbal invalidation, often struggle to make stable decisions under social pressure or identity-threatening messages. Existing approaches tend to focus on symptoms or emotional processing, offering limited guidance on maintaining authorship of meaning and actions. This paper introduces the Sovereign Authorship (SA) model, developed through a selective integrative review of self-authorship theory, narrative identity research, and stance-based traditions. SA was operationalised via the Psyche-Myth Architecture (PMA) and Modular Myth Engine Live-Action Dashboard (MMELD) to support decision-making and affect containment. A composite single-case vignette ("Giselle") illustrates the model, with brief measures administered across Sessions 1, 3, and 6. Findings show reduced adherence to imposed negative narratives, increased stance stability through deliberate actions, improved affect regulation, and clearer identity differentiation. These results indicate that integrating identity construction, stance selection, and containment facilitates movement from role-capture to authored response. SA provides a low-complexity, portable framework suitable for counselling, school settings, and contexts of chronic invalidation, enabling clients to act from internal commitments rather than external pressures. Future research should replicate single-case designs and refine stance-stability markers to enhance applied validity. Overall, Sovereign Authorship functions as a practical micro-framework for maintaining judgment, regulating affect, and choosing constructive actions under coercive or identity-threatening circumstances.