Narrative therapy heals

Writing about difficult subjects and traumatic incidents helps people in a multitude of ways, suggests professor James W. Pennebaker at the University of Texas.  One often-repeated test was to have individuals write about a trauma or difficult situation for 15 minutes, three or four days in a row.

In more than 200 expressive writing experiments, spread over two decades, according to Pennebaker, results include positive impact on various health complaints and immune function. College students, for example, improved their adjustment to college, reduced their visits to the health center, and in some cases, improved their grades.

This writing experiment was undertaken by college students, inmates, pain suffers, medical students, engineers out of work, first-time mothers, and others. It was done in the U.S., Belgium, Mexico, and New Zealand. The results—improved mental and physical health held true.

Narrative writing seems to help organize and give meaning to emotional trauma and experiences that may be difficult or complex. It seems that the process of writing, which integrates emotions and thoughts, provides a way to summarize and then move past the event.

The stories can be either autobiographical or third person, says Pennebaker. However, just telling a story about oneself does not provide benefits. It’s the process of contemplating and creating the story that provides benefits.  So, for someone to recount a story about their childhood, based on what they’ve been told or remember, appears to have little benefit. However, if the person writes their own version of the story, connecting events, thoughts, emotions, and people, the results are positive.

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References:

Pennebaker, J.W. & Seagal, J. (1999). Forming a story: The health benefits of narrative. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 55, 1243-1254. Retrieved from http://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/HomePage/Faculty/Pennebaker/Reprints/Seagal1999.pdf

Pennebaker, J.W. (2010). Expressive writing in a clinical setting. The Independent Practitioner, 30, 23-25. Retrieved from http://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/homepage/faculty/pennebaker/reprints/Pennebaker_IP2010.pdf