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Savannah Minichello

WRDS 1104

11/15/21

To Infinity and Beyond: Rise Above Mental Illness with Therapeutic Writing

With 51.5 million adults in the United States, roughly one in five and 20.6% of the

population, living with a mental illness, only 44.8% received treatment for their mental illness

according to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (“Mental Illness”, n.d.). With

less than half of those diagnosed with a mental health disorder receiving treatment, the topic of

coping mechanisms and treatment for mental illnesses is a dilemma that needs to be addressed.

While there are a variety of known and effective treatments for mental illnesses like depression,

anxiety, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder, therapeutic writing is a coping

mechanism that is proven to be effective in lessening symptoms in a short amount of time and

help beyond mental well-being, and it needs more attention brought to it.

Because therapeutic writing is a form of therapy that needs more awareness, it is

important to note what therapeutic writing is and what it is intended to do. The Center for Journal

Therapy defines therapeutic writing as reflective writing intended for relieving mental, physical,

emotional, and spiritual health and wellness (Rhodes, 2017). Therapeutic writing aims to work

as a moment of self-reflection regarding one’s emotions because it forces an individual to

address their own conflicts and concerns by writing down their thoughts and feelings.

Psychology professor at the University of Texas at Austin, James Pennebaker developed a theory

regarding stress that provides an explanation for the benefits therapeutic writing produces.
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Pennebaker states when an individual holds back their thoughts and emotions, it serves as a

stressor, but the burden stress instills can be relieved once the individual confronts and

acknowledges their feelings (Swink, 2018). Scholar John F. Evans adds on that therapeutic

writing focuses more on the feelings felt during the event rather than how the conflict arose.

Therefore, therapeutic writing works as a healing solution and coping mechanism for those

dealing with a mental illness because it allows them to write down their stress and emotional

upheavals. Pennebaker found therapeutic writing benefits individuals better who have greater

abilities to change perspectives and construct a story (Rhodes, 2017).

After learning how therapeutic writing works and the purpose of it, what research backs

up the effectiveness therapeutic writing has on individuals with mental illnesses? Occupational

therapist and researcher from the United Kingdom, Pauline Cooper conducted a study using two

different models of writing, Using Writing as Therapy (UWAT) with a therapist and Creative

Writing (CW) with a non-therapist facilitator. Both were used to find which nature of writing

provides the most benefits. The study was conducted on mental health patients in community

facilities and inpatient settings, and the patients’ treatment plans were adjusted to implement

therapeutic writing. The study was designed for the intention of understanding how therapeutic

writing aids in recovery from a mental illness and acts as a support method. Cooper recorded the

benefits and concerns each model of writing expressed from written and spoken comments of the

clients and group leaders (Cooper, 2010).

Out of Cooper’s study, the UWAT model of writing displayed the most benefits from

clients than the CW model of writing did. The UWAT model of writing exercises D.W.

Winnicott’s concept of “potential space” between inner thought and outer reality and Wilfrid

Bion’s concept of “containment” by allowing clients to reorganize their memories and

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experiences on a piece of paper. By doing this, clients of the UWAT model reported changes in

their cognitive ability that granted them an increase of self-knowledge by being able to distance

themselves from their experiences because of writing. (Cooper, 2010).

Cooper’s study shows many benefits due to therapeutic writing, but clients who used the

Creative Writing model of writing lacked an increase of self-knowledge as clients with the

UWAT model gained. As noted in a previous paragraph, clients of the UWAT model of writing

worked with a therapist while clients of the CW model of writing worked with a facilitator who

was not a therapist. Therefore, clients of the UWAT model of writing had a trained professional

to help them reflect and connect their thoughts together while the clients of the CW model of

writing only had a facilitator, so they lacked conversations with others about their emotional

content. While clients using the CW model of writing used writing to separate themselves from

their painful emotions, the absence of no emotional content discussion presented the problems of

clients feeling they had a less safe environment, lack of positive feedback, and problems with

writer identity. Even though Cooper’s study backs up that therapeutic writing is beneficial in

relieving stress by allowing individuals to take control of their thoughts and emotions and self-

reflect by reorganizing their memories, Cooper’s findings infer therapeutic writing is more

beneficial when done alongside seeing a therapist because it provides the opportunity for positive

feedback (Cooper, 2010).

While Cooper’s study found therapeutic writing is most beneficial when paired with also

seeing a therapist, therapeutic writing can be a great alternative to talk therapy for those who are

not comfortable with it because it still allows individuals to further develop their sense of self in

a more private setting. Therapeutic writing is also an excellent alternative for support groups and

antidepressants. Researcher Gillie Bolton states practicing therapeutic writing alone is beneficial
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for helping individuals maintain control of difficult issues because it allows them to restate or

take back what they say on a piece of paper which can’t be done when talking face-to-face with a

therapist. The benefit to writing, whether or not it is alone, is it allows the individual to rewrite,

reread, and have the ability to never share it. Whether someone combines therapeutic writing

with talk therapy or not, it helps individuals vent their feelings, gain insight on how their

physical or mental illness affects them, and cope with their fears (Rhodes, 2017).

While therapeutic writing is beneficial in many ways for mental health, therapeutic

writing is also beneficial in aiding one’s medical well-being. In Ronale Tucker Rhodes’s

academic article from the magazine IG Living, Rhodes remarks numerous studies have linked

reduced physical symptoms and beneficial health effects between medically ill people who

participated in therapeutic writing. Specifically, Rhodes mentions a study that found breast

cancer patients had fewer physical symptoms in as little as four days after using therapeutic

writing to write about how their illness had affected them. Another study performed by the

University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, patients who were assigned to the expressive

writing group who wrote about cancer were found to have less sleep disturbances, better sleep

quality, and less daytime dysfunction compared to the neutral writing group who wrote about

health behaviors. Besides cancer, other studies have linked therapeutic writing to improved lung

function in those with asthma, improvement in physical-related disease severity in those with

rheumatoid arthritis, and improved immune response in patients with HIV infection (Rhodes,

2017).

After learning how therapeutic writing is beneficial for our mental and medical well-

being, what is the best approach to beginning therapeutic writing to receive the best results? The

first step is picking a specific subject to write about and being detailed. A study performed by the
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University of Los Angeles resulted in better health improvement for those who wrote in-depth

about their stressor rather than those who wrote general facts. Second, to receive the most

beneficial effects, an individual needs to be consistent with how often they are writing. One’s

brain needs a scheduled time and day dedicated to writing in order to be able to dive deeper into

one’s feelings and processing them. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

recommends setting aside at least 15 to 20 minutes a day for three days in a row to reflect and

allow time afterwards to collect one’s thoughts and feelings before moving onto another task.

The third step is to use positive words like “because”, “realize”, and “understand” because it

maximizes the positive effects one gains and allows for clarity. Studies linked the use of positive

emotion words to increased improvement in health of the writer. Lastly, it is important to avoid

spell-checking or reviewing grammar because it distracts the writer from experiencing a free-

thinking, clear mind that is free of judgement (Swink, 2018).

While there are many coping mechanisms and treatments for mental health, therapeutic

writing is one that is rarely talked about even though it provides beneficial effects for one’s

mental well-being. Therapeutic writing is beneficial for people under all different circumstances.

It provides beneficial effects beyond mental health and is a helpful healing tactic for those who

are medically ill as it helps reduce physical symptoms and improves the immune system. Writing

works as a constructive tool for everyone ranging from individuals who are terminally ill to

college students transitioning to a new environment (Rhodes, 2017). Therapeutic writing can

function as an excellent alternative to other forms of treatment as it allows individuals to

confront their feelings head on and develop a deeper understanding.

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Works Cited

Cooper, Pauline. “Pauline Cooper: The Use of Creative Writing as a Therapeutic Activity for

Mental Health in Occupational Therapy.” British Journal of Occupational Therapy, vol.

73, no. 9, College of Occupational Therapists Ltd, Sept. 2010, pp. 436–436.,

doi:10.1177/030802261007300903.

“Mental Illness.” National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human

Services, n.d., www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness. Accessed 11 Nov 2021.

Rhodes, Ronale T. “The Healing Properties of Therapeutic Writing.” IGLiving.com, IG Living,

2017, www.igliving.com/magazine/articles/IGL_2017-04_AR_The-Healing-Properties-of-

Therapeutic-Writing.pdf. Accessed 15 Nov 2021.

Swink, Steven. “Writing Tips That Can Reduce Symptoms.” NAMI, NAMI, 16 Feb. 2018,

nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/February-2018/Writing-Tips-that-Can-Reduce-Symptoms.

Accessed 15 Nov 2021.