WRITE NOW THERAPY!

DON’T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT!

Writing as a therapy option has long been studied, tested, and proven as a successful opportunity for those seeking to improve their mental and physical health. Here is a lengthy list of nearly 130 scientific research studies and book publications combining decades of research to demonstrate the successful outcomes of writing as a therapy in various settings, conditions, and with various clients/patients. Research spanning scientific, medical, and psychological journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Harvard University Press, Columbia University, and the American Psychological Association (APA) is all referenced. This is a long-studied and applicable treatment option. 

There should be no doubt that therapeutic writing in various forms is a proven therapy option with a very low cost of entry for a variety of personal issues and people.

• Allen SF, Wetherell MA, & Smith MA (2020). Online writing about positive life experiences reduces depression and perceived stress reactivity in socially inhibited individuals. Psychiatry Research, 284.

• Angus, L & Hardtke K (1994). Narrative processes in psychotherapy. Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne, 35(2), 190-203.

• Angus L, Levitt H and Hardtke K (1999) The narrative process coding system: research applications and implications for psychotherapy practice. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 55, 1255-70.

• Baddeley JL, Pennebaker JW  (2011). A post deployment expressive writing intervention for military couples: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 24(5):581-585.

• Baikie KA & Wilhelm K (2015). Emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing. Adv Psychiatr Treat., 11(5), 338-346.

• Bal M (1985). Narratology: Introduction to the theory of narrative. University of Toronto Press.

• Bal M (1991). On story-telling: Essays in narratology. Polebridge Press.

• Batten SV, Follette VM, Hall MLR, & Palm KM (2003). Physical and psychological effects of written disclosure among sexual abuse survivors. Behav Ther., 33(1), 107-122.

• Bohart, AC & Tallman, K (1999). How clients make therapy work: The process of active self-healing. American Psychological Association.

• Bolton, G, Howlett, S, Lago, C, & Wright, JK (Eds.). (2004). Writing cures: An introductory handbook of writing in counselling and therapy (1st ed.). Routledge.

• Botella C, Banos RM, Guillen V (2017). Positive technologies for improving health and wellbeing. In: Proctor C, (Eds.) Positive Psychology Interventions in Practice. Springer International Publishing/Spring Nature: 219-234.
• Braghieri, L, Levy, R & Makarin, A (2022). Social media and mental health. American Economic Review, 112(11), 3660-93

• Bruner J (1986). Actual Minds, Possible Worlds. Harvard University Press.

• Bugental, JFT (1990). Intimate journeys: Stories from life-changing therapy. Bass.

• Chatman, S (1978). Story and discourse: narrative structure in fiction and film. Cornell University.

• Chilton, G, Gerber, N, Councill, T, & Dreyer, M (2015). I followed the butterflies: Poetry of positive emotions in art therapy research, Cogent Arts & Humanities, 2: 1026019.

• Coaston, SC  (2020) Taming the brain weasels: Reducing self-criticism through externalization and compassion, Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 15(2), 176-188.

• Connolly, BK. & Mazza, N (2004). The healing power of writing: applying the expressive/creative component of poetry therapy, Journal of Poetry Therapy, 17(3), 141-154.

• Crossley ML (2000). Narrative psychology, trauma, and the study of self/identity. Theory and Psychology, 10, 527-46.

• Denborough, D (2014). Retelling the stories of our lives; Everyday narrative therapy to draw inspiration and transform experience. W.W. Norton & Company.

• Doan, RE (1997). Narrative therapy, postmodernism, social constructionism, and constructivism: Discussion and distinctions. Transactional Analysis Journal, 27, 128 –133.

• Drewery, W, & Winslade, J (1997). The theoretical story of narrative therapy. In Monk, Winslade, Crocket, & Epston (Eds.), Narrative therapy in practice: The archaeology of hope (pp. 32–52). Jossey-Bass.

• Drewery, W, Winslade, J, & Monk, G (2000). Resisting the dominating story: Toward a deeper understanding of narrative therapy. In Neimeyer & Raskin (Eds.), Constructions of disorder: Meaning-making frameworks for psychotherapy (pp. 243–263). American Psychological Association.

• D’Souza PJ, Lumley MA, Kraft CA, & Dooley JA (2008). Relaxation training and written emotional disclosure for tension or migraine headaches: a randomised, controlled trial. Ann Behav Med. 36(1):21–32.

• Dyer, WW (2007). Inspiration : your ultimate calling. Hay House, Inc.

• Epston, D. & White, M. 1990: ‘Story, knowledge, power.’ In Epston & White, Narrative means to therapeutic ends, chapter 1. Norton.

• Fleming, T (2003). Narrative means to transformative ends:Towards a narrative language for transformation. Transformative Learning in Action:Building Bridges Across Contexts and Disciplines – Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Transformative Learning. (pp. 179-184). Teachers College, Columbia University
• Fletcher A, & Benveniste, M (2022). A new method for training creativity: Narrative as an alternative to divergent thinking. N Y Acad Sci., 1512(1):29-45.

• Feurer, C, Francis, J, Ajilore, O, Craske, MG, Phan, KL, & Klumpp, H (2021). Emotion regulation and repetitive negative thinking before and after CBT and SSRI treatment of internalizing psychopathologies. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 45(6), 1064–1076.

• Frankfurt S, Frazier P, Litz BT, et al.(2019). Online expressive writing intervention for reintegration difficulties among veterans: Who is most likely to benefit? Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 11(8), 861-868.

• Frankl, VE (1962). Man’s Search for Meaning: an Introduction to Logotherapy. Beacon Press.

• Freedman, J & Combs, G (1996). Narrative therapy: The social construction of preferred realities. Norton.

• Freedman, J & Combs, G (1996). Shifting paradigms: From systems to stories. Narrative therapy: The social construction of preferred realities, chapter 1. Norton.

• Freeman, J, Epston, D, & Lobovits, D (1997). Playful approaches to serious problems: Narrative therapy with children and their families. Norton.

• Frisina PG, Borod JC, & Lepore SJ (2004).  A meta-analysis of the effects of written emotional disclosure on the health outcomes of clinical populations. J Nerv Ment Dis.192(9), 629-634.

• Gallant, P & Strauss, I (2011). Narrative therapy with couples. Case studies in couples therapy: Theory-based approaches (289-301). Routledge.

• Gergen, KJ & Kaye, J (1992). Beyond narrative in the negotiation of therapeutic meaning. In McNamee & Gergen (Eds.), Therapy as social construction (166–185). Sage.

• Gerger H, Werner CP, Gaab J, & Cuijpers P. (2021).Comparative efficacy and acceptability of expressive writing treatments compared with psychotherapy, other writing treatments, and waiting list control for adult trauma survivors: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. Psychological Medicine. February 2021.

• Gidron Y, Duncan E, Lazar A, et al. (2002). Effects of guided written disclosure of stressful experiences on clinic visits and symptoms in frequent clinic attenders. Fam Pract.19(2):161–166.

• Gladding, ST, Wallace, D, & Melanie, J  (2018).  Scriptotherapy: eighteen writing exercises to promote insight and wellness, Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 13(4), 380-391.

• Gold, JR (1994). When the patient does the integrating: Lessons for theory and practice. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 4, 133–158.

• Grafanaki S and McLeod J (1999). Narrative processes in the construction of helpful and hindering events in experiential psychotherapy. Psychotherapy Research, 9, 289-303.

• Greenberg LS, Elliott R and Rice L (1993). Facilitating Emotional Change: The Moment-by-Moment Process. Guilford Press.

• Halpert A, Rybin D, & Doros G (2010). Expressive writing is a promising therapeutic modality for the managemnet of IBS: a pilot study. Am J Gastroenterol, 105(11), 2440–2448.

• Henke SA (1998). Shattered subjects : trauma and testimony in women’s life-writing (1st ed.). St. Martin’s Press.

• Henriksen D, Richardson C, & Shack K (2020). Mindfulness and creativity: Implications for thinking and learning. Think Skills Creat., 37, 100689.

• Hockemeyer JR, Smyth JM, Anderson CF, et al. (1999). Is it safe to write? Evaluating the short term distress produced by writing about emotionally traumatic experiences (abstract) Psychosom Med., 61(99).
• Hunt, C (2010). Therapeutic effects of writing fictional autobiography. Life Writing, 7(3),231-244.

• Hurley, K LCSW (2020). Writing as therapy; The next wave of writing therapy is a throwback to expressive journaling that attempts to make sense of past stress. https://www.psycom.net/mental-health-wellbeing/the-healing-power-of-writing

• Huynh, M (2021). Social Media Addiction and the Loneliness Epidemic. OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal, 8, Article 5.
• Jones CJ, Theadom A, Smith H, et al. (2008). Writing about emotional experiences to improve lung function and quality of life in patients with asthma: a 3-month follow up of a randomised controlled trial. Thorax, 63, A18–A21. 

• Juth, V (2006). A systematic review of the methodology of expressive writing intervention studies: Examining location. Syracuse University Honors Program Capstone Projects. 649. https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/649

• Kominars, SB (2007). Write for life; Healing body, mind, and spirit through journal writing. Cleveland Clinical Press.

• Kovac SH & Range LM. (2000). Writing projects: lessening undergraduates’ unique suicidal bereavement. Suicide Life Threat Behav., 30(1). 50-60.

• Lepore SJ & Greenberg MA. (2002). Mending broken hearts: effects of expressive writing on mood, cognitive processing, social adjustment and health following a relationship breakup. Psychol Health., 17(5), 547-560.

• Linsenmeyer, W, Rahman, R, & Stewart, DB (2022) The evolution of a transgender male’s relationship with food and exercise: A narrative inquiry. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 17(1), 2-14. 

• Lu Q & Stanton AL (2010). How benefits of expressive writing vary as a function of writing instructions, ethnicity and ambivalence over emotional expression. Psychol Health. 25(6):669–684.

• Luborsky L, Barber JP & Diguer L (1992). The meanings of narratives told during psychotherapy: The fruits of a new observational unit. Psychotherapy Research, 2, 277- 90.

• Madigan, S. (2011). Narrative therapy. American Psychological Association.

• McAdams, DP (1993). The stories we live by: Personal myths and the making of the self. Guilford Press

• McAdams DP, Bauer JJ, Sakaeda AR, Anyidoho NA, Machado MA, Magrino-Failla K, & Pals JL (2006). Continuity and change in the life story: A longitudinal study of autobiographical memories in emerging adulthood. Journal of Personality; 74(5), 1371-1400.

• McGuire KM, Greenberg MA, & Gevirtz R (2005). Autonomic effects of expressive writing in individuals with elevated blood pressure. J Health Psychol., 10(2):197–209.

• McMullen LM & Conway JB (1994). Dominance and nurturance in the figurative expressions of psychotherapy clients. Psychotherapy Research, 4, 43-57.

• McMullen LM & Conway JB (1997). Dominance and nurturance in the narratives told by clients in psychotherapy. Psychotherapy Research, 7, 83-99.

• Meier, A (2002). Narrative in psychotherapy theory, practice, and research: a critical review. Counselling & Pscyhotherapy Research, 2(4), 239-251.

• Meier A and Boivin M (2000). The achievement of greater selfhood: The application of theme-analysis to a case study. Psychotherapy Research, 10, 57-77.

• Mirgain, SA  & Singles, J (2016, updated 2023). Therapeutic journaling. VA Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation.

• Mogk C, Otte S, Reinhold-Hurley B,&  Kröner-Herwig B (2006). Health effects of expressive writing on stressful or traumatic experiences—a meta-analysis. GMS Psycho-Social-Medicine, 3, 1-9.

• Monk, G (1997). How narrative therapy works. In Monk, Winslade, Crocket, &  Epston (Eds.), Narrative therapy in practice: The archaeology of hope (pp. 3–31). Jossey-Bass.

• Mugerwa S & Holden JD (2012). Writing therapy: a new tool for general practice? Br J Gen Pract.,62(605), 661-3.

• Murphy, LJ & Mitchell, DL (1998). When writing helps to heal: E-mail as therapy, British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 26(1), 21-32.

• Murray, B (2002). Writing to heal; By helping people manage and learn from negative experiences, writing strengthens their immune systems as well as their minds. Monitor of Psychology, 33(6), 54.

• Neimeyer RA (2000). Narrative disruptions in the construction of the self. In Neimeyer & Raskin (Eds.), Constructions of Disorder: Meaning Making Frameworks for Psychotherapy., pp. 207-242. American Psychological Association

• Nevinski, RL (2013). Self-expressive writing as a therapeutic intervention for veterans and family members. Journal of Poetry Therapy, 26(4), 201-221.

• Niles AN, Haltom KE, Mulvenna CM, Lieberman MD, & Stanton AL. (2014). Randomized controlled trial of expressive writing for psychological and physical health: the moderating role of emotional expressivity. Anxiety Stress Coping, 27(1),1-17

• Pachankis JE & Goldfried MR (2010). Expressive writing for gay-related stress: psychosocial benefits and mechanisms underlying improvement. J Consult Clin Psychol., 78(1):98–110.

• Pavlacic JM, Buchanan EM, Maxwell NP, Hopke TG, & Schulenberg SE (2019). A meta-analysis of expressive writing on posttraumatic stress, posttraumatic growth, and quality of life. Review of General Psychology, 23(2), 230-250.

• Pennebaker JW. (2004). Writing to Heal: A Guided Journal for Recovering From Trauma & Emotional Upheaval. New Harbinger Publications.

• Pennebaker JW, Evans JF (2014). Expressive writing: Words that heal. Idyll Arbor.

• Pennebaker JW. (1997). Writing about emotional experiences as a therapuetic process. Psychol Sci., 8(3), 162-166.

• Pennebaker JW (2018). Expressive writing in psychological science. Perspectives on Psychological Science,13 (2), 226-229.

• Quaglietti, S (2021). Creating a hope narrative for veterans in recovery using photography and written expression. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 16(3), 308-321. 

• Ramsey-Wade, CE, Williamson, H, & Meyrick, J (2021). Therapeutic writing for disordered eating: A systematic review. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 16(1), 59-76. 

• Reinhold M, Bürkner P, & Holling H. (2018). Effects of expressive writing on depressive symptoms—A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 25(1).

• Reker GT, Birren JE, & Svensson C. (2014). Self-aspect reconstruction through guided autobiography: Exploring underlying processes. The International Journal of Reminiscence and Life Review, 2(1), 1-15.

• Rennie DL (1994). Storytelling in psychotherapy: The client’s subjective experience. Psychotherapy, 31, 234-43.

• Richards JM, Beal WE, Seagal JD, & Pennebaker JW. (2000). Effects of disclosure of traumatic events on illness behavior among psychiatric prison inmates. J Abnorm Psychol.,109(1), 156-160.

• Richert, AJ (2003). Living stories, telling stories, changing stories: Experiential use of the relationship in narrative therapy. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration. 13(2), 188–210.

• Richert, AJ (2006 ). Narrative psychology and psychotherapy integration. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration. 16(1), 84 –110.

• Richert, AJ (2002). The self in narrative therapy: Thoughts from a humanistic/existential perspective. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 12, 77–104.

• Rimmon-Kenan S (1983/1999). Narrative Fiction: Contemporary Poetics. Routledge.

• Ruini C & Mortara C (2022). Writing technique across psychotherapies—from traditional expressive writing to new positive psychology interventions: A narrative review. J Contemp Psychother; 52, 23-34.

• Rustøen T, Cooper BA, & Miaskowski C (2010). The importance of hope as a mediator of psychological distress and life satisfaction in a community sample of cancer patients. Cancer Nurs., 33(4), 258-67.
• Sahin, ZS & McVicker, M (2009). The Use of Optimism in Narrative Therapy with Sexual Abuse Survivors. Journal of European Psychology Students, 1(1), p. Art. 7.

• Saltzburg, S (2007). Narrative therapy pathways for reauthoring with parents of adolescents comingout as lesbian, gay, and bisexual. Contemporary Family Therapy: An International Journal, 29, 57-69.

• Sarbin, T. (1986). The narrative as a root metaphor for psychology. In Sarbin (Ed.), Narrative psychology: The storied nature of human conduct (pp. 3–21). Praeger.

• Sayer NA, Noorbaloochi S, Frazier PA, et al. (2015). Randomized controlled trial of online expressive writing to address readjustment difficulties among US Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 28(5), 381-390.

• Schafer, R (1992). Retelling a life: Narration and dialogue in psychoanalysis. Basic Books.

• Schoutrop MJ, Lange A, Hanewald G, Davidovich U, Salomon H, et al. (2002). Structured writing and processing major stressful events: A controlled trial. Psychother Psychosom., 71(3), 151-157.

• Shalay, N., & Brownlee, K. (2007). Narrative family therapy with blended families. Journal of Family Psychotherapy, 18, 17-30.

• Sharifabad MA, Hurewitz A, Spiegler P, et al. (2010). Written disclosure therapy for patients with chronic lung disease undergoing pulmonary rehabilitation. J Cardiopulm Rehabil Prev., 30(5), 340–345.

• Sloan DM, Marx BP, Epstein EM, & Dobbs JL (2008). Expressive writing buffers against maladaptive rumination. Emotion, 8(2), 302–306

• Smyth JM (1998). Written emotional expression: effect sizes, outcome types, and moderating variables. J Consult Clin Psychol., 66(1),174-184.

• Smyth J, Hockemeyer J, Anderson C, et al. (2002). Structured writing about a natural disaster buffers the effect of intrusive throughts on negative affect and physical symptoms. Aust J of Disast Trauma.,1.

• Smyth JM & Pennebaker JW (2008). Exploring the boundary conditions of expressive writing: In search of the right recipe. British Journal of Health Psychology; 13,1-7.

• Smyth JM, Stone AA, Hurewitz A, & Kaell A (1999). Effects of writing about stressful experiences on symptom reduction in patients with asthma or rheumatoid arthritis. A randomized trial. JAMA, 281(14):1304–1309.

• Smyth JM, True N, & Souto J (2001). Effects of writing about traumatic experiences. The necessity for narrative structuring. J Soc Clin Psychol., 20,161–172.

• Smyth, J, & Pennebaker, J (1999). Sharing one’s story: Transplating emotional experience into words as a coping tool. In Snyder (Ed.), Coping: The psychology of what works (pp. 70-89). Oxford Univeristy Press.

• Sools, A & Schuhmann, C (2014). Theorizing the narrative dimension of psychotherapy and counseling: A big and small story approach. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy: On the Cutting Edge of Modern Developments in Psychotherapy, 44(3), 191–200.

• Spera SP, Buhrfeind ED, Pennebaker JW. (1994).Expressive writing and coping with job loss. Acad Manage J., 37(3), 722-733.

• Stanley, PH (2006). When Scriptotherapy Fails: The Life and Death of Sylvia Plath and Adelheid Duvanel. Seminar: A Journal of Germanic Studies 42(4), 395-411.

• Suddeath, EZG, Kerwin, AK, & Dugger, SM (2017). Narrative family therpay: practical techniques for more effective work with couples & families. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 39(2), 116-131.

• Swatton S and O’Callaghan J (1999). The experience of ‘healing stories’ in the life narrative: A grounded theory. Counselling Psychological Quarterly, 12, 413-29.

• Thygesen, H, Bonsaksen, T, Schoultz, M et al. (2021). Use and self-perceived effects of social media before and after the COVID-19 outbreak: a cross-national study. Health Technol., 11, 1347–1357.

• Tomm, K (1987). Interventive interviewing: Part II. Reflexive questioning as a means to enable self-healing. Family Process, 26, 167–183.

• Tomm, K. (1988). Interventive interviewing: Part III. Intending to ask lineal, circular, strategic or reflexive questions? Family Process, 27, 1–15.

• Van der Oord S, Lucassen S, Van Emmerik AA, & Emmelkamp PM (2010). Treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder in childen using cognitive behavioural writing therapy. Clin Psychol Psychother. 17(3), 240–249.

• Van Emmerik AA, Reijntjes A, Kamphuis JH (2013). Writing therapy for posttraumatic stress: a meta-analysis. Psychother Psychosom., 82(2), 82-88.

• White, M (1990). Narrative means to therapeutic ends. A Norton Professional Book.

• White, M (2007). Maps of narrative practice. Norton

• White, M. (1997). The culture of professional disciplines. In White (Ed.), Narratives of therapists’ lives, chapter 1. Dulwich Centre Publications.

• Winslade, J, Crocket, J, & Monk, G (1997). The therapeutic relationship. In Monk, Crocket, & Epston (Eds.), Narrative therapy in practice: The archaeology of hope (pp. 53– 81). Jossey-Bass.

• Wright, J (2002). Online counselling: Learning from writing therapy, British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 30(3), 285-298.

• Wright, J & Chung, MC (2001). Mastery or mystery? Therapeutic writing: A review of the literature. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 29(3), 277-291.

• Yardhouse, MA (2008). Narrative sexual identity therapy. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 36, 196-210.

Citations follow American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines.